Hopeless
by broken.glass.2008
Summary: What starts out innocent leads to horrible consequences in the future. Can the Autobots turn around and fix their mistake, or is the world a hopeless cause? Starscream x OC, Bumblebee x Optimus Prime. Rated T for swearing, but I might up the rating. R&R!
1. Invitation

**Author's Notes:** I hope you enjoy my fan fic- I write it mostly at school. It will have a mix of G1 characters, my characters and the characters from the '07 movie. Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Jazz will look the way they do in the '07 movie. If you want any pairings or characters in the fanfic leave a review! This is rated M for language and stuffz.  
Please enjoy and review!_  
_

_I do not own Transformers or its characters.  
I do own Ark Angel and Icefire_

**-Hopeless-**

_Chapter 1: Invitation _

The sun was slowly going down, bathing the base in orange and pink light. Empty was the perfect place to build the Autobot's base; it was shielded from humans by being in the middle of a vast desert, and the human's military forces had hidden it from GPS systems and maps. They were literally invisible.

Optimus Prime let out a loud sigh, continuing his walk around the inside of the base. All of the other Autobots were either recharging or retreating to their recharge beds. Optimus' footsteps echoed in the tinny hall as he paced slowly, each footstep thudding. Maybe he'd go for a drive. There were few things that were as great as transforming and tearing down the highways and sand dunes, his engine working hard to meet his demand for speed.

He walked around a corner and was quite surprised to nearly flatten his comrade Bumblebee. The two collided with a loud thunk, knocking Bumblebee over onto the ground. Optimus shook his head, staggering backwards at the force of an autobot running full speed colliding into him, shaking his head again to clear his unfocused optics.

"Bumblebee? What the heck are you doing, running down the halls so crazily?" Optimus spoke, giving him a questioning look.

"I was about to say the same to you, Optimus Prime." Bumblebee replied pushing himself off the floor. Wiping the dust off his knees he looked up at him."I was looking for you, really." Bee laughed, straightening out his spine. The golden autobot turned his head to look out one of the many windows in the hallway.

The hallway was very large, with a high ceiling that was several meters above Optimus Prime's head. Windows went from the floor to the ceiling and lined one wall of the whole hallway. On the other wall there were numerous doors leading to offices, recreation rooms, personal rooms and a bunch of other things that would be too long to list here. This was the core of the base, a large circle of rooms. In the center of the circle there was the communications room. The circle was surrounded by a large rectangular building, which was underneath it. Several staircases led down to that part of the base.

"I always find earth sunsets so beautiful. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, why I was here..." Bee said thoughtfully, turning to face Optimus. "Oh, yeah! Jazz broke out the high grade fuel in Rec Room C. He invited me and Ironhide over for a party. We're inviting everyone! It's time we had a party, right? Anyway, you're coming, right? I mean, you got to! It's going to be sooooo awesome! Please, Optimus?" Bumblebee said quickly, eyes pleading.

Optimus nodded, smiling at Bee. He hadn't been to a party for such a long time, being Prime was 24/7 and the responsibilities never stopped. Hey, what was wrong with taking a night off? He rarely had time for himself and his friends.

"Yeah, sure!" Optimus said, beaming at Bumblebee.

"Awesome! I'll race you there!" Bumblebee grinned back and turned on his heel. With a push of his ankle he rocketed off taking long strides. He glanced back, smirking. "I bet you can't beat me, old timer!" Bumblebee laughed, speeding up. Although Optimus wasn't that old (Ironhide was older) Bumblebee got on his nerves with all the "old timer" crap.

Optimus Prime laughed and ran after him. Long legs took even longer strides than Bumblebee, and he quickly caught up to him. Feet making loud booming noises on the metal floor as he ran. Being so tall had its perks, but it also meant he was really heavy, and it was hard to move on the metal floor without making loud noises. Optimus grabbed Bee's shoulders and vaulted over him in a leapfrog-like jump. Still laughing he hit the floor running, arms pumping in rhythm to his fast footsteps. He skidded to slow down quickly, sparks erupting from beneath his feet. Pushing off again he rocketed down the hallway and around a corner into Rec Room C.

"YOU FAT FART! YOU NEARLY FLATTENED ME!" Bumblebee shouted after Optimus. Optimus Prime was laughing like a maniac. He was bent over, clutching his middle. "Damn, Optimus, you are sooo heavy..." Bee croaked, rubbing his back. He heard the last remains of Optimus' madmanish laughter as he entered Rec Room C. If this was what he was like at the mention of a party, Bee wondered what he was like after several rounds of high grade and premium fuel.

Little did Bumblebee know Inviting Optimus Prime to the party on this night was probably the worst thing he could do.

**If you want me to update, add a character, add a couple/pairing please review or email me at broken .glass (at) live .ca (without the spaces)**


	2. No Encore?

_I do not own Transformers or its characters.  
I do own Ark Angel and Icefire_

**  
**

**-Hopeless-**

_Chapter 2: No Encore?_

_Somewhere outside Empty..._

A cloud of sand flew up from the ground as several jets accelerated across the desert landscape, preparing for takeoff. A few assorted vehicles gathered away from the speeding jets. The jets rose into the clear blue sky, sand whirling on the ground. Taking off on sand was very difficult for a plane. But then again, these were no ordinary planes.

Starscream, Skywarp and Megatron rose into the air beside each other, their wheels retracting as they climbed. They had been scanning the desert for an earth year, looking for the Autobot base. The only thing that kept them searching was the rumours of a base here. Some humans had seen it, but they had passed it off as a mirage.

Starscream knew better. The Autobots had to be here, he could almost feel it. He rose into the sky, trailing behind his leader Megatron with Skywarp flying beside him, forming a triangular shape as they rocketed high above the golden dunes. They had all the time in the world but Megatron was growing impatient now. This was one of the final searches. If they didn't find it in three Earth months they'd be returning to Cybertron.

The decepticons on the ground formed a V like shape, with Blackout hovering in the middle of them. Barricade, Brawl, Bonecrusher and Soundwave (who was inside Blackout) moved smoothly in the shadow of the three jets. Blackout thought this whole "search mission" was pointless by now and wanted to go back to Cybertron, but Starscream and Megatron's endless bickering made them stay.

Starscream searched the seemingly endless gold dunes for any glimmer of metal. Any little hint that led to the Autobot's whereabouts.

Finally, something. A flash of silver showed, and Starscream instantly radioed Megatron.

"Did you see that?"

"I did. Maybe this mission wasn't such a failure after all Starscream..."

"I think we found them."

_

* * *

_

_In Rec Room C..._

Optimus Prime was greeted by happy cheers as he entered Rec Room C. Jazz was holding a tumbler of high-grade, waving and cheering. Rec Room C consisted of a table, a large plasma screen TV, a glass case full of small figures, photographs and other various souvenirs from places they'd been. A large, rectangular table stood in the middle of the room, and transformer-sized couches lined the walls. On one end of the room there were cupboards and a mini-fridge full of different kinds of fuel.

"What's up, Opty?" Jazz chuckled, offering Optimus a tumbler full off high-grade. Optimus took it grinning, and drained it in one gulp. Turning, he stood beside Jazz who was sitting on the countertop beside the mini-fridge. Optimus eyed Jazz from the corner of his optic. Jazz was staring at a laughing Icefire.

Icefire, Elita One, Arcee and Ark Angel were deep in conversation. They sat on one of the large couches, deep in conversation. Jazz was staring quite intently at Icefire. She was a slender little thing, completely black except for blue flames that decorated her arms, legs and shoulders. Jazz grinned when Icefire glanced over her shoulder to him, and she wondered why he stared so intently.

Ark Angel giggled, and muttered something about how 'cute' Jazz was. She elbowed Icefire, who muttered in reply, stifling a giggle at whatever she said. Jazz grinned at the sudden attention.

"Damn, Icefire is hot..." Jazz said dreamily. Optimus whacked Jazz on the back of his head.

"Hey, what was that for!?" Jazz grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"She's way too good for you, little Jazz!" Optimus taunted, grinning. He himself didn't have feelings for any of the fembots (although it was quite clear that Elita and Ark Angel liked him, because they were constantly glancing at him and giggling together.)

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that. Nobody can resist _The Jazzmeister._" He said, walking over to Icefire. Optimus grabbed his glass and poured himself another glass of high-grade.

"Hey, bitches!" Hot Rod shouted from the hallway, walking into the room. Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Hound followed him in. "We're here to crash a party."

Bumblebee's radio blared "_Let's Get Retarded" by the Black Eyed Peas_. Bee walked up to Optimus Prime and jumped up on the counter, taking the drink Optimus gave him. They both laughed as Jazz got turned down for a dance by Icefire. The silver autobot wore a frown on his face as he walked back to Optimus.

"Reee-jection!" Bee laughed, gulping down his drink and smirking.

"She has no clue what she's missing. _The Jazzmeister_ owns all!" Jazz proclaimed, sitting beside Bumblebee. He grabbed a fuel container and took a swig of it. The trio turned their attention to Ratchet, who was standing on top of the table, banging a glass with a spoon. Apparently, Ratchet had had _way_ too much high grade.

"ATTENTION! Attention! I have new jokes for you! So shut up and listen!" Ratchet shouted, banging on the glass hard enough that it cracked in his hand. "Ooops. Sorry Jazz for breaking that. And you two, quite being so gross!" Ratchet looked at Ironhide who was making eyes at Ark Angel. Ark Angel was giving him flirty looks back.

Hound put his hand over his mouth to stifle a loud laugh. He made a gagging gesture with his hands, acting as if he was about to vomit.

"Ok, here's my first joke. What do you call a decepticon in science class who's dissecting a frog?"

Nobody said anything, except for Hound, who was making squeaking noises while pretending to vomit.

"A DISSECT-icon! Get t? Ha ha ha!" Ratchet laughed. He laughed for about five minutes while the other Autobots glared at him. It took him a few moments to realise nobody was laughing.

Instead, it looked like they all wanted to kill him.

"That. Sucked." Hot Rod finally said, grabbing a plastic plant that was on a coffee table, and threw it at Ratchet's head. Ratchet lost his balance and fell backwards, off the table and unto the floor. The plastic plant lay beside him.

Groaning on the floor, he croaked, "What? No encore?"

**If you want me to update, add a character, add a couple/pairing please review or email me at broken .glass (at) live .ca (without the spaces)**


	3. Interruption

Ok, here's the third chapter! The plot is going to thicken after this D**  
**_  
I do not own Transformers or its characters.  
I do own Ark Angel and Icefire_**  
--**

**-Hopeless-**

_Chapter 3: Interruption_

Ratchet was normally a very grumpy mech. If you asked anyone about his personality that would most likely be the first thing they'd talk about- how grumpy he is. But after a few rounds of high grade, he was quite hyper and happy. It was showing now, with his giggling and rolling around on the floor. The others eventually ignored his gleeful giggling (they had no idea why he was laughing, he hadn't said anything after that joke) and the rest of the Autobots continued to chat amongst themselves and dance to Bumblebee's radio.

Bumblebee thought what Ironhide and Ark Angel were doing was supposed to be dancing, anyway. It looked like they were practically sparking. The only actual movement they were doing was shuffling from side to side and Ironhide was trying to grope Ark Angel's aft.

Bumblebee's optics moved from the pair to Optimus Prime, who was leaning against the counter beside him. Bumblebee was often finding himself staring at Prime; there was just something about him that was very interesting, rather, appealing. Bee found it quite odd and looked away, flipping through radio channels to occupy his wandering processor.

Ark Angel finally let go of Ironhide, giggling as he gave her a pleading look to stay here. She hadn't had anything to drink and was the only autobot who hadn't drunk anything. She slapped Ironhide's hand who tried to hug her again (Okay, technically she was making out with him) moving away. She skipped away and into the hallway, glancing behind her to see Ironhide stalking her.

"You big drunk oaf!" She giggled as he picked her up from behind. Ironhide swung her around so she faced him and he planted another kiss on her lips. Angel wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his after ending the kiss, still in midair with Ironhide's hands on her hips holding her up. She was tiny, miniscule compared to Ironhide, and it was kind of odd how such a big mech could handle delicate little Ark Angel without crushing her.

"I was going to go wake up Chromia and invite her to the party."

"Forget about her."

"You meanie!" Ark Angel whined hitting him lightly on the face. Her arms were now crossed, a pout on her lips. "She's my best friend. How can I forget about her?"

Ironhide set her down again, closing the door to Rec Room C with his foot. "Right now I should be the only thing you're thinking about." Ironhide smirked, raising an optic ridge.

"Quit being so adorable!" Ark Angel squeaked, jumping up to throw her arms round his neck.

**

* * *

****  
Outside the base...**

Megatron transformed into robot mode, falling from the sky and hitting the ground with a light thud. Sand whirled around his feet as he turned to focus upon the other decepticons, who were either transforming or standing attentively for his orders. Starscream landed beside him, smirking broadly. What a know it all.

"Barricade, Brawl, Bonecrusher, Starscream and I will invade the base. Frenzy, you will hack the gates. It seems like no one is here, so this will be simple. The rest of you stand guard outside and shoot down anything you see." Megatron growled, signalling the ones he had listed forth.

Turning quickly he proceeded towards the gates. Frenzy chattered excitedly in slurred cybertronian as he darted toward the gates. The complex was surrounded by a high steel wall, with only one way in- the entrance gates. They had fairly simple security precautions- video cameras, guns trained on approaching figures and a numeric keypad that you entered the password to open the gates with. Frenzy being quite the expert at hacking was able to disarm the cameras and guns through the keypad and open the gates at the same time. Starscream still proceeded to blow the cameras up, which made Megatron gave him a deadly look and a scowl.

The group walked into the base silently. Despite their large size, they were stealthy. Frenzy had disabled the other video cameras along with the ones outside so there was no real risk for the Decepticons to be caught, but they stayed stealthy and spy-like as a precaution in case an Autobot crossed paths. Megatron ran quick scans of the building, searching for energy signatures.

Megatron's hand shot out and he stopped suddenly, alert. He whispered quietly to his minions. "There are around 21 energy signals that I detect, but there are few that are online and not in recharge. They seem to be coming from the upper level. Bonecrusher, you and Brawl will stay on this level, understand?" Megatron said in a raspy whisper. Frenzy would of course come with him in case there were any other doors that needed to be decoded. He picked up Frenzy by the back of his neck and tossed him to Barricade.

The Decepticons continued to wander in the dimly lit passages. The energy signatures of resting Autobots came from behind every door. Starscream tensed each time he detected one of those useless, pitiful lives, they were so unaware- why not just go and blast the slag out of them? His grip tensed on the gun he carried in his hand, and as if Megatron sensed this, he spoke to him through the internal connections they all had.

"Not now, Starscream. You'll see what I have in mind."

Starscream was still pissed and Megatron's acknowledgement of his want seemed to make him angrier. Just when he was about to say something snide he picked up the faint voices of two Autobots- One he knew all too well. It was Ironhide and that pesky Ark Angel. That little femme had nearly blasted his head off in one of their battles. Barricade heard their soft laughter and chats and pointed towards the spiralling staircase just ahead of them. Megatron nodded and began to jog forward, landing softly on the tip of his feet to not make much sound besides a gentle thud.

The group scaled the staircase quickly and arrived in the upper level of the base. The dark hallway was only illuminated by light that streamed through a window in one of the doors and soft moonlight came into the base from tall windows that scaled the hallway's full length. Starscream advanced to the front of the group only to be pushed rudely away by Megatron who gave him a nasty look. "Let me do my job, Starscream." He snarled before advancing towards the light coming from Rec Room C.

Starscream was pushed into Barricade's chest. Barricade snorted and shoved him aside to continue on with his duty. Barricade must have been given an O.K from Megatron because he moved away from the group to follow the voices of Ark Angel and Ironhide. Starscream looked frustrated. He never got to do any of the _fun_ stuff- He wanted to be the one to terrorise random Autobots!

* * *

Barricade walked down the corridor quickly, hearing sensors on high alert. He had the muffled giggle of Ark Angel programmed into his memory and the voice of Ironhide on priority; he paid no attention to the other sounds he heard. Optics scanned the darkness, looking rather than advancing down the corridor. He wouldn't want to run into them, anyway. He located their energy signatures coming from a few offices down, His cannons humming softly as he saw their silhouettes. He felt disgusted; the Autobot had Ark Angel draped around him like a towel.

He smirked as Ironhide looked up from the femme and saw Barricade melt out of the darkness. The mech gave a little gasp and hurriedly took Angel off him, putting her behind him. Ironhide's hands transformed into cannons but Barricade had already fired. The blast hit the wall beside Ironhide's head, leaving a large black mark and a dent. Ironhide was quick to fire back and duck from a second shot that Barricade fired. Barricade let out a cry as he felt the force of a blast hit his abdomen but saw Ironhide had not fired the blast; Ark Angel did from behind Ironhide. She was grinning and smoke came from the gun of her arm. Barricade let loose a string of cybertronian swears as he clutched his side where he had been hit, dodging another of Ironhide's blasts with agility. He let out a cry and fired his cannons at Ark Angel. She took full impact, the gunfire hitting her in her left arm and abdomen. She was blast into the wall behind her, hitting it with a metallic clang.

Ironhide was enraged as Ark Angel fell to the floor, limp and covered in her own energon fluid. It seeped from her heavy wounds. Ark Angel twitched once, let out a groan, and lay there as if she was paralyzed. Ironhide let out a roar of anger, shooting wildly at Barricade. His shots shattered the windows behind Barricade, the glass raining down like crystals on Barricade and him. He fired once more, hitting Barricade square in the chest. Barricade let out an energon-curdling scream, falling backwards at the force of the hit. His scream continued his voice raspy and harsh as he fell backwards into one of the windows. He tried to regain his balance, arms rotating like a windmill, trying to clutch onto the windowpane. He caught hold of the metal for a second but continued falling, losing his grip. The window smashed and he fell down to the roof of the first level. Ironhide winced as he heard a loud shriek as he fell through the roof of the first floor, but it was replaced with a feeling of relief as the scream ended quite suddenly as if it were cut off.

Ironhide looked out the window to where the Decepticon had fallen. He winced again, realising he had fell through the roof into one of the med bays. Ratchet would be pissed! Ironhide saw the Decepticon twitch and he fired another shout at him, this time the shot searing right through him. That would be the last of his life.

He quickly turned around to the heavily bleeding Ark Angel. Ironhide walked forward and leant down to her face. Her spark was still pulsing, but just barely. Barricade's shot had severely damaged some of her internal systems, maybe damaging her memory. He dared not touch her so he wouldn't hurt her. She gave a little gasp and a shudder as her worn systems recognised his presence.

"It hurts." She stuttered, sounding much like a sparkling. Her hand reached out to his, her arm shaking slightly. She put it in Ironhide's and grasped it.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine, Ratchet will fix you right up, I promise." Ironhide said softly, his hand enclosing on hers. He held it there for a moment whispering encouraging things to her. He didn't dare call for help as there were probably be more Decepticons in the base, so he monitored her systems and kept her out of stasis. Primus was he thankful that he hadn't had a lot to drink and he had only blurred vision. If he had drunk more he probably wouldn't have been able to respond like he did. Now, he only hoped the other Autobots would be able to take the surprise attack.

A sharp squeaking noise from Ark Angel made him pull out of his thought and turn his head around to see Starsceam's foot.

"Oooh, look what I found here. Bots in love! Too bad this relationship will be short." Starscream cackled, firing at Ironhide. Ironhide was blasted backwards, away from Ark Angel. Ark Angel had released his hand when Starscream spoke so she hadn't been dragged along with him. Starscream turned his gun to Angel but instead of shooting he transformed his gun back into his hand.

"I wouldn't want to waste such a pretty thing like you. I think you'd make a good Decepticon, don't you agree?" He said in mocking tones, picking up Ark Angel. She twitched and let her energon-soaked body be picked up by Starscream, falling limp in his arms and drifting into stasis lock.

* * *

Megatron looked at the Autobots. Pitiful. They were all drunk. Optimus Prime was looking only half awake as he attempted to shoot his gun at him which missed by several feet, wrecking the wall beside him. The others had been shot by him, in stasis. He raised an optic ridge as Optimus stopped shooting his gun.

"I never thought that invading the Autobot base would be so _easy._" He snorted, smirking and blasting Prime in the shoulder. Optimus skidded backward into the corner of a wall.

"I won't be brought down." Optimus spoke but Megatron merely laughed.

Starscream had, as the humans say, 'messed up Bumblebee's face'. Starscream kicked the fallen yellow bot that was on the floor once more. Megatron had let him go at it as he fired at the other drunken Autobots. Megatron watched as Bumblebee's optics flicked offline. Ha! There was only one left, and that was Optimus Prime.

"You think you can defy me?" Megatron spoke in a deadly whisper, advancing upon Prime. A blade emerged from his hand and he dragged it across Optimus' arm. The blade cut his armour and circuitry, making Prime cry out in pain. The long slash from the blade flowed energon freely. Prime shot once more, his aim wavering, causing the blast to hit another wall. Megatron laughed and then plunged his sword into Prime's side, the blade slicing through Optimus' systems. Megatron laughed louder as Optimus Prime screamed in agony, energon pouring from the wound as Megatron withdrew.

"You'd like me to end it, don't you?" Megatron shouted so his screaming brother could hear. He stabbed Optimus once more into what would have been his thigh if he were human. Optimus screamed louder, a bellow of pure pain that echoed pleasingly in Megatron's hearing systems. "Never." He said softly, uttering the single word. "**You should suffer for all the destruction you and your silly Autobots caused for the Decepticons!"**Megatron bellowed at him, optics flaring with such rage.

He had seen so many allies fall to the hands of the Autobots. Plans ruined because of this idiot, this force that always seemed there, the reason why he always failed. Not today. No, today this was his victory, and nothing was sweeter than hearing his brother's cries of pain. He smirked and raised he blade, only to drive it deep within Optimus' shoulder. Energon splattered against his silver armour, His brother's precious energon that kept him living. Megatron laughed evilly as Optimus' cries of agony increased, becoming a deep bellow that voiced all the pain. He finished driving it in his shoulder and then gave it a twist, cutting all the circuitry and wires in his left arm. He smirked as Optimus' systems could not take it anymore and he fell into stasis lock that would probably lead into being offline.

"The pain has overcome you, hasn't it?" Megatron hissed, removing the blade heavy with energon. Optimus Prime's left arm hung limply from his body by a few strands of wiring. He stepped back and found that his torso and front of his body was coated with Optimus' energon. He walked out of the room with Starscream trailing him. A sense of respect and almost pride came from Starscream as he looked at his energon-soaked leader. He left the bodies of the Autobots behind as they exited Rec Room C, which was basically an energon bath.

Megatron paused as he heard a cry from Barricade and the sound of smashing glass. He turned to face Starscream and noticed the look of awe he gave Megatron when he saw Optimus Prime's energon all over him. Megatron almost grinned for a minute but then spoke.

"Starscream. See what is going on with Barricade. I'll meet you outside with the others in ten minutes." Megatron paused, brushing some of the energon off his arm. It splattered on the floor, causing Starscream to look down at the droplets in interest. "And I might suggest getting a little souvenir."

So how was that for a chapter ending? Chapter four probably won't be as long, but you never know :P and I'm not finished with this fanfic yet, by the way!


	4. Fatality

Sorry this chapter took a while. I've been really busy lately. Although I have not gotten many reviews or anything, I'll still keep updating, because this story is quite fun to write!**  
**

_  
I do not own Transformers or its characters.  
I do own Ark Angel and Icefire_**  
--**

**-Hopeless-**

_Chapter 4: Fatality_

Megatron watched Starscream walk off to investigate. Seeing Starscream melt into the shadows he turned away, not bothering to be silent, footsteps clanging. He was smirking now, gushing with pride for what he'd done. It was his now. It was all his! This earth would be his, he would build up the Decepticon race, making it great again, making this planet like Cybertron- No, better than Cybertron! Megatron squared his shoulders, standing in a very straight posture, flaring with pride and authority. He walked down the stairs quickly, taking them three at a time. Bonecrusher and Brawl turned around attentively for Megatron's orders. They had heard all of the cries and noises from upstairs, and thankfully, only one Autobot had woken.

"I'll assume that there were no problems?" Megatron spoke, staring his minions down.

"No, except for one Autobot that stirred." Bonecrusher spoke, pointing at a form that was deep in stasis lock.

"It was the one they call_Wheeljack_." Brawl spoke. He had wanted to show off the fact that he had indeed taken out the Autobot, but compared to Megatron, his victory was small.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs was heard again, made by Starscream coming down the stairs quickly. A small pink and navy figure was held in his arms. Brawl raised an optic ridge at him, in an _Are you kidding?_ Look. Bonecrusher had a similar reaction, but Megatron merely nodded. Megatron turned his expectant glare to Starscream, wanting to know what had gone on.

"Megatron; Barricade has fallen, and is offline. Ironhide blew a hole through him. Little miss Ark Angel here was shot by Barricade. Ironhide is offline." Starscream said. Okay, well, he didn't actually _know_ if he was offline, he thought he was though. Starscream shrugged it off and looked intently at the injured Autobot. She could be mended. Starscream knew the femme he held was a brilliant warrior; he'd tamper with her memory and turn her into a Decepticon. That would by quite nice- especially to him.

At the time Starscream stopped talking Megatron was already halfway out the door with Barricade and Brawl tagging along. Brawl turned around and shouted at Starscream taking him out of his thoughts.

"Starscream! Quit overloading and get over here!"

"My interface systems are fine, thank you!" Starscream shouted back, sprinting forward at a quick jog. If he hadn't been holding the Autobot he would have fired a blast at the back of Brawl's head for his stupid (true) comment!

Soundwave, Skywarp and Blackout stood in a group outside. It was now dark out, the sky almost ebony but still navy, bathing the golden dunes in a blue glow. The silhouettes of the decepticons stood out as they stood on guard as their leader and companions charged out of the gates. Soundwave was a bit taken aback by Megatron's energon covered body, in fear that it was his energon, but was relieved to find that Megatron was fine. Blackout rolled his optics. Soundwave was very simply Megatron's mindless pet.

"That," Megatron said, lifting up his arm, letting the moon catch the glistening energon as he looked at it, "Was quite a success."

"What of Frenzy?" Bonecrusher said, looking around Megatron. The little silver thing wasn't there.

"Ooops." Megatron said sarcastically. "It seems I've lost him, along with Barricade. Well, at least they'll perish _together_." Megatron snickered, knowing well the two were very good friends. "We won't need him anymore, anyway. There will be no Autobots to stop us!" He added quite triumphantly.

Megatron turned away from the group and set off at a run. He took long, quick strides, and then jumping into the air as he transformed into his sleek jet form. He turned quickly, one wingtip tilting vertically to the ground. Two cannons appeared on his wings. Megatron flew high above the base, missiles locking on to the roof of it, training the deadly shots to the roof. The roof was metal, so it would need to be shot several times before it collapsed.

Megatron trained his cannons on one spot, and then fired the first missile of many to come.

* * *

Ironhide forced his weary optics online, lying against the dented wall he had crashed into. Optics scanning the area for Starscream, he couldn't make out his silhouette- everything was too blurred. He looked forward just in time to see a flash of a pink stripe against navy- Ark Angel. Something silver was against her. Frag! Ironhide raised his hand to shoot at them, but found that it was too damaged to transform into a cannon. Ironhide attempted to call out- an attempt that did nothing more than become a low groan.

Ironhide heard the talk of the other Decepticons from below, and attempted to stand on shaking knees. Legs giving way he shot his arm down to hit the floor before he fell. Keeping it there he stood back up, leaning against the unbroken window beside him.

The scene of the fight played over and over in his mind. He heard the Decepticons leave, he'd heard the metal door slam shut behind them, and he'd heard Starscream and Brawl shouting at each other. She was gone now, in the grasp of Starscream. Optics burned with silent anger and loathing toward Starscream. Ironhide let out a little gasp as a sharp stab of pain hit his hip, and he put his hand there only to find it was sticky with energon fluid. Walking as best he could to the door of the rec room, dragging himself along in great pain as he clutched the window frames of the windows that were broken for support or leaning against the unbroken windows. He came to the door of Rec Room C, shaking with the effort it took to even move. Automatic recharge systems screamed at him to go into recharge but he ignored that system and broke down the door easily with his foot.

What his optics saw when the door was knocked down was simply gruesome. The mangled, stasis locked forms of Autobots lay limply on the ground. His comrades, limbs scratched, armour dented, lay like figurines on the floor. Ironhide had to lean against the door as his optics drifted upon Optimus Prime.

His leader's face was frozen in a grimace of pain, his left arm looking limp and useless. His optics were offline, instead of the brilliant glittering blue they were a solid black. Energon seeped from many wounds- blade wounds? From their last encounter, Ironhide remembered that Megatron did not have a blade. Perhaps he'd learned how to have one like his brother? Ironhide looked at the mangle body of Optimus Prime and used what was left of his energy to walk toward him, sinking to his knees beside the fallen leader. Ironhide looked at him, inspecting every bit of his leader. It saddend and pained him to see Optimus like this, and there was only one thing he could do to help him. Ironhide took the little wires that held Optimus' arm to his body-there were only three there. Ironhide transformed his finger into a small but very sharp blade and cut the wires, detaching Optimus' arm from his body. Now it was a clean cut, and if the arm was infected it would not infect the rest of Optimus. Ironhide grabbed the tablecloth that covered the top of the counters Optimus leaned against. Ironhide draped it over Optimus' shoulder, tying the tablecloth on in a makeshift bandage. It would do, it would stop Optimus Prime's energon from openly flowing out of the wound. He was no Ratchet, but the bandage should also keep out infection.

Icefire was laying to the right of Ironhide and had heard him come in. Her optics came online, a sparkling deep blue hue.

"Ironhide..." She said quietly, getting up. Icefire wasn't as badly damaged as any of the rest. She got up carefully. Her arm was cut open and her leg bent at an odd angle but other than that she was fine, just a bit drunk.

Ironhide turned to see the online Icefire. He stood up also, not bearing to look at the fallen Prime any longer. He stood up for a moment but then fell down to the floor beside Prime. A tremor shook the entire room, the walls visibly rattling, and the glasses that were on the various tables shifting across them. What the hell was going on? Icefire turned around; about to take a step forward over the body of Bumblebee but yet another tremor hit the base. She fell across Bumblebee's chest, the tremor causing her to lose her balance. She rolled off him onto the floor.

"Don't get up!" Ironhide yelled over another shriek of metal bending and buckling. "Put your arms above your CPU!"

Icefire did as he said, arms shielding her head just as another hit rocked the base. A screech of metal informed the two conscious Autobots that the roof to the right portion of the lower level had crumpled. After that, there was a loud boom that made Ironhide's hearing sensors nearly break. He looked up just in time to see there was a dent in the roof above him. He let out a loud scream just as another missile came, making the roof buckle and bend inwards on the room. Bits of the metal roof fell upon Ironhide, one hitting him hard on the back of the head causing him to go into recharge.

* * *

Megatron and Blackout shot at the roof in symmetry. One shot by Blackout, one shot by Megatron, in a steady pattern that brought down the base easily, trapping the Autobots inside. The metal walls shrieked as they crumpled from their force, grinding and flattening. Barricade didn't really see a need for this but Megatron wanted to do it. He wasn't about to argue with him though, so he continued until the base was deflated. Not completely, but so much that the roof was basically gone, and there were gaping holes in its remains. Barricade peered at one of these holes as Megatron and he descended.

Megatron was practically _exploding_ with pride as he transformed gracefully and landed in front of the decepticons. When he walked around he was practically strutting, his posture could never be straighter than it was now. Starscream was pissed off by Megatron's extreme pride and ignored him, staring at Ark Angel instead while Megatron started ranting about his victory.

"...and that is how I killed Optimus Prime!" Megatron finished, optics flaring with joy. He stopped pacing in front of the Decepticons and turned to face them. His arm had transformed into a blade while he was talking. He grinned at the Decepticons, posing the blade over his head. "Now the Earth is finally ours!" He almost shouted, beaming with radiance.

"How did you do that, anyway?" Blackout said quietly, pointing at Megatron's blade.

"A little trick I learned from my _dear _brother." He said. It seemed as if Megatron would show off that blade at any chance he got. "You think I spent the whole time fighting him and didn't learn a thing?"

"Yeah." Starscream muttered.

Megatron snarled at him from a minute, faceplates turning from proud to angry but the snarl went as quick as it came. He decided to ignore that idiot Starscream.

"Now, how about we go tear down some of those puny civilizations?" Megatron said. The Decepticons agreed with a cheer. They all transformed except for Starscream (who decided to not transform and fly. He wasn't about to shove Ark Angel in Barricade with Soundwave.) Megatron rose into the air, spiralling up, jet engines roaring. The humans were no threat to them. Nothing was going to stop Megatron now. He could conquer all in a fraction of a second.


	5. Remedy

Yay, finally it's chapter 5! Just to let you know, this starts off with Ark Angel's (Renamed Whirlwind by Starscream) point of view. Then it goes back to its default point of view. Text with / around it is over an internal communications link or spark bond.

_I do not own Transformers or its characters.  
I do own Ark Angel/Whirlwind and Icefire_

* * *

**-Hopeless****-**

_Chapter 5: Remedy_

_250 000 human years in the future_

* * *

_Bright blue optics sparkling gently like stars..._

_Glimmering blue, red and orange..._

_A strong voice..._

_A name._

_Ark Angel?_

"Mommy. Mommy, wake up..."

My optics click online as I feel a tug on my arm. I look over to the side, seeing the white and navy protoform of Stormbringer. I hold his tiny hand in mine, my other hand across my forehead.

"...Mommy!..." The only legible word in that sentence is 'Mommy!'. The rest is random clicks and beeps. My Stormy still has to grasp the concept of speech. I sit up in bed, looking to my left to see that Starscream is still sleeping in the recharge bed we share. I watch him recharge for a moment and then I get out of the bed. It is still much too early to be awake, but little Stormbringer couldn't care less. He lets out a bleep as I stand up and stretch, aligning my internal systems. Stormbringer looks angry that I still haven't picked him up, his little arms are crossed and he has a frustrated look on his faceplates. I silently chuckle at him and pick him up.

"WINDOW! Now!" Storm blurts, and I quickly put a finger over his mouth.

"Shhh. Daddy's really tired, and you don't want to wake him up, do you?" I purr, pulling the sparkling closer to my chest. Stormbringer falls silent as I cross the dark room to the window. I press a button, and the metal window blinds slide away to reveal a breathtaking view of Hazard City. My youngling bleeps and reaches out to the window as if he could grab all of the towering buildings. We both love the forty story high view of the city. I rock him gently in my arms as we both look. He lets out another beep. He wants me to tell him about the city, the same way I do all the time when he can't sleep.

"You know your daddy has to run all of this right? Everyday, he gets up and puts his mind to his work. That's why our city and our race is so successful." Stormbringer's optics stare into mine like it's the first time he's hearing this, but I've told him this hundreds of times. "Your daddy is the best leader, isn't he? Better than Megatron, that is. Look at what we've made out of Earth. Beautiful." I say quietly rocking him back and forth. I send him all of my love through our spark's connection. He sends love back and a hint of annoyance because I stopped before I got to the good part. "And you know what, my little darling? One day, when you're as big and as powerful as Daddy, you'll take his place. All of this-" I stop rocking him and make a sweeping motion with my one free hand, "Will be your responsibility."

He lets out a very happy click and snuggles tightly into the crevice of my arm and closer to my chest. He loves being near me so I simply stand there, looking out at the civilization. My sparkmate, Starscream, was the leader of all this. It still amazes me. Skyscrapers stick out of the ground like needles, buildings scattered among them. Decepticoons fly back and forth in the sky. There is always bad traffic up there, but it is worse on the ground. The first light of dawn is on the horizon, and I sigh gently. I had another very strange dream, one of the many I've had for the past year. It's always about a certain bot; who it is I do not know. He is not a Decepticon. He is something else. I want to know who he is- but when I think about him I always come to a dead end, as if my mind was cut off at a certain part. I told Starscream about it and he got angry. I wish I knew who that was- and why he made Starscream so angry. I pressed my forehead against the window. Storm is in recharge in my arms, but I do not feel like putting him back in his recharge crib. It is quite comforting to listen to the soft whir and pulse of his spark. As I look out on Hazard City, I know there's something missing- There has to be. There's something that I don't know about, and as mate of the leader of all the Decepticons and Earth, I should know. I sigh again, looking down at the various aircraft that zoom past each other. Below them, the streets are crowded with humans. Their race does all of the things we bots don't want to do. They do whatever we want them to do. I back away from the window, to look at the whole window instead of one part.

Two hands grasp my shoulders. I smile as Starscream kisses the top of my head, and I use my free hand to feel his hand on my shoulder. Starscream slides his hands down my sides, hugging my waist. I giggle as he kisses the top of my head again. "Hi, Whirlwind..."

"What are you doing up?" I say quietly, wiggling out of his grasp while clutching Stormy. I turn around to face him and he looks at our son with pride.

"I heard Stormbringer when he woke you up." Starscream said softly, telling me over our spark connection that he wants to hold him. I hand him the young protoform and he cradles it gently.

Every Decepticon knew of how angry Starscream was, but they also knew that I and Stormy were the only bane for his anger. We were able to bring out a soft side to him, one that was never seen outside of our bedroom. Outside of there he was always angry, even to me, although he always told me he didn't mean it later on. I always forgave him; we both had very stressing jobs.

But there was always something odd about myself, and I was beginning to notice that more and more each day. I was so different from the other Decepticons. I would never do most of the things they do. It was strange- I was forgiving and kind, and yet everyone else seemed to hold grudges and be angry at each other all the time. It was confusing, but at the end of the day it was worth it- I loved my sparkmate and my sparkling.

I watch Starscream put Storm in his smaller recharge crib. I smile at him and run forward, jumping into his open arms. I close my eyes, happy to be pressed against him. After all, I was the only femme on this whole planet who knew Starscream like this. But as I hug him tightly, I still can't help to wonder why my spark feels a pang of remorse every time I hold him.

* * *

It had felt like a hammer had been smashed against her head. Either that, or some giant rock. It didn't really matter what hit her head but it was quite clear that it ached. Arcee propped herself up on her elbow. Dim sunlight filtered into the dusty room. Her scent sensors picked up a rotten smell, heavy like death. She sat up slowly, looking around the dim room. Bits of sheet metal, wiring and parts of steel bars were littered around the room.

Along with Autobots.

Arcee blinked. Frag it, how long had she been offline? As she looked at the strewn bodies of Autobots lain beneath debris while her internal systems did a quick scan of herself. A few minor injuries, a badly shredded up leg... Enough to put her into emergency stasis lock but not enough to extinguish her spark. She pushed debris off her lap and legs and stood up. The roof was sagging in with several holes in it. It reminded Arcee of a human food called "Swiss cheese."

She stretched for a moment double checking her systems before picking her way around the debris. It was easy for her as the roof didn't sag too badly in some parts allowing her to move around. It would be much harder for the larger mechs to stand up, she noted in her memory, as she picked a beam up off of her friend Icefire. Arcee grunted as she moved a large panel of steel off of Icefire's leg, and tossed it to the side. One of its edges hit Bumblebee on the stomach.

"Ugh."

Arcee looked around to see Bumblebee moving from under the pile of rubble she had thrown at him when she was clearing off Icefire. The only parts of him that were showing was his chest, stomach and a flexing hand.

"Bumblebee!" Arcee cried, moving hurriedly to the golden Autobot's side. She pushed all of the metal off his face and neck. She threw his arms around his neck in a friendly hug.

"Get this stuff off me..." He said, his words muffled with the fact that Arcee was all over his face happy he was alive.

"Do you remember where Hot Rod was?" She said, drawing back from him beaming. If Bumblebee could make it, Hot Rod certainly could!

"Over there." Bumblebee said. He twitched a finger indicating that the mech had been somewhere by the coffee table. Arcee quickly jumped up and walk-jogged away, in an odd little shuffle caused by a bad dent in her knee joint. "You are so obsessive." Bumlebee grunted, moving his arm to clear away some rubble for him other arm. He sat up tentatively, optics dimming from the pain it took to move his hip joint. Bee's systems did a quick scan of him. Everything was okay, not horrible, but not very good either. Most of his armour had been eaten away by some kind of corrosive leaving him in a half protoform state. Embarrassing! It seemed like most of his joints had been twisted and worn so there could be problems with controlling his limbs, but despite gashes and cuts that was it.

He flexed both of his uncovered hands and then looked over to Arcee. She had Hot Rod's shoulder over her arm, and she was attempting to pull him out from under shards of metal and the concrete that had reinforced it. It was at that moment Bumblebee lifted his hand to touch his right optic. He left out a small whimper as pain shot through the optic at the slightest brush. It had been shattered and broken somehow. Great, one optic. He pulled himself up to his feet, knees shaking from years of not being in use. Arcee was putting all of her weight in the attempt to pull out Hot Rod. She was doubled over, walking forward slowly. Half of a very confused Hot Rod was already out of the pile. His optics were unfocused and glazed, and he had a contemplating (Very rare, Bumblebee noted) look on his face.

"You're going to pull his arm clean off. Let me help." Bumblebee said walking over to Hot Rod. He put an arm under Hot Rod's arm, and latched onto his shoulder with another. Bumblebee pulled on the mech in sync with Arcee. This was easier said than done.

"You're shiny." Hot Rod said in a confused tones.

"Nice. Could you try moving your legs?" Bumblebee grunted, finally stepping way from the mech. Arcee and himself had pulled him now halfway out o the pile. The only thing left was his legs. Arcee stopped yanking his arm and stood beside Bumblebee. Hot Rod twisted and squirmed, pulling himself out of the rubble. He stood up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you ok?" Arcee said, concern plainly laid out on her faceplates. Bumblebee saw her optics dart all over Hot Rod's body. Hot Rod's wiring was poking out from several gashes, blue and red wires frayed at the ends. There was a gash in his leg and a slight dent in his head but nothing else.

"Yeah- just- d-d-dazed." He stammered. "What's wrong with Optimus...?"

Bumblebee's spark skipped a pulse when he turned around. Optimus Prime was lying in a corner, horribly wounded. An energon-soaked cloth was wrapped tightly around his shoulder- where his arm was. Bumblebee's processor felt as if it had shut down, his one remaining optic flickered.

"We have to help him." He choked. Before the two could say otherwise Bumblebee kneeled beside Optimus squeezing in-between Ironhide's body and Optimus'. Bumblebee put his hand softly on one of Optimus Prime's chest plates to check if his spark was eating. A wave of relief hit him as he felt Optimus' spark, but it was faint. Bumblebee moved his other hand to Optimus' shoulder, undoing the bandage. It fell away to reveal severed circuitry and removed armour. Bee winced. Thank Primus the cut had been clean though, had the arm stayed on Prime could have got a bad virus from bad energon. Bee moved his hand from Prime's chest plate to his head. He ran a thumb down Optimus' cheek.

"I'm sure he's ok, he has a strong spark-" Arcee said.

"I know that." Bumblebee said as he ran his thumb down his leader's jaw line. Sorrow welled in his spark. He didn't want to wake Optimus and make him feel the pain of his injuries but he had too. He needed Optimus right now. They needed Optimus.

Bumblebee tapped on the top of Optimus' head with his fist. No response. He jabbed his cheek with a finger. Still- nothing. "Sorry, Op..." He muttered as he looked to the bare circuitry and wires. Bumblebee moved his hand over the exposed "veins", and brushed about five of them with his hand. He instantly felt Optimus Prime spasm, Prime's legs kicking out from the shock of pain the exposed wires would give him from the touch. Optimus' optics clicked online, and Bumblebee heard his systems begin a loud whirr. Bumblebee threw his arms around his leaders shoulders and put himself on Optimus' chest (In a rather embarrassing pose) to stop his spasms of pain. Hot Rod grabbed Prime's legs to make sure they would not kick out and knock around more debris.

Optimus Prime let out a loud bellow in pain when his vocal processor came online. Bumblebee let go of his shoulder to clamp a hand over Optimus Prime's mouth (his mask had retreated) to try to muffle the cry. Optimus' had another violent spasm in his legs which nearly threw Hot Rod across the room. Hot Rod was able to hang on the kicking Prime and after a minute Optimus stopped shaking and fell silent.

"Bumblebee. What the frag are you doing?" Optimus groaned looking at Bumblebee who was sprawled across his chest.

"Making sure you didn't loose your CPU when you woke up. Uhh- sorry! I'll get off now." Bumblebee stammered and quickly retreated off Optimus. Optimus had felt warm against the parts where his protoform protruded... It was nice.

"Where's Ratchet? I need some meds. Get me Prowl. I want to know what's going on. How long have I slept? Is there any Decepticon news? Where's-" Optimus said frantically, looking around.

Arcee moved forward. "Uhhh... They're kind of-"

"Stuck in stasis lock." Hot Rod finished quickly. "We're the only ones out of it. I can't remember a thing."

"Nor can I." Arcee agreed. Optimus looked shocked.

"Where's Ark Angel? Does she have any reports from Cybertr-"

"No, Optimus. Everyone's in stasis. No one is awake except for me, Hot Rod, Arcee and you. I just woke up. You... don't have an arm, so don't try moving to quick. Actually, don't move at all. Your severely damaged." Bumblebee explained. Optimus looked hurt. Prime's blue optics looked up in worry to Bumblebee.

"...What?" Optimus said quietly. It seemed like he had just noticed he was missing an arm. He was no longer the brilliant blue and red he was- he was covered in energon. His own energon. When Prime realised this he gasped sat up, pushing his back against the counter. The roof was way too low for him to stand up. He kept a straight face but he was still slightly trembling from the pain. It was like someone stabbing Bumblebee in the spark to see Prime like this. "Is it fixable?"

"I'd think so- It's a clean wound so there shouldn't be many issues with getting a replacement arm put on. But for now, we'll have to cover up those circuits with that cloth to keep it from catching viruses or rusting or anything." Bumblebee said, picking up the cloth and wrapping it tenderly around Optimus' shoulder. Prime shuddered. "You ought to rest so you can get used to the pain. You won't be getting a new arm until we can get out of this room." Bee said quietly, rubbing the top of Prime's shoulder reassuringly. Prime nodded and his optics dimmed.

Bumblebee turned around to find that Hot Rod had his arms around a quietly sobbing Arcee. She seemed really distraught and Hot Rod was consoling her so he decided not to butt in. Instead, he walked away from them, and sat on the floor where he had been lying. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. Contemplating and trying to recall what had happened to them.

* * *

Whirlwind hurriedly jogged down the hall, holding Stormbringer close to her chest. She was taking him to the communications room with her, because she had been suddenly called there by Starscream. Stormy had been sleeping in her arms before he called her, so she let him sleep instead of disturbing his recharge. She nearly ran over Soundwave as she ran down the halls into the Communications room. "Sorry!" she shouted at him, realising she had knocked him over. She quickly entered the Communications room, looking slightly flustered as she walked up to Starscream. Shockwave nodded at her, and she curtly nodded back. Stormbringer had woken up and he chirped happily at Starscream.

"Whirlwind. Have you finished that document about sector 86?" Starscream asked her.

"...What?" She looked a little confused. Stormbringer clapped his hands and giggled hearing the anger in his father's voice.

"The one I assigned to you a fragging three weeks ago!" He snarled, eyes flashing with anger. She didn't flinch. She was used to his yelling. /Sorry. Do you remember that? Or have you been too busy with Stormbringer? He seems happy today./

"It must have slipped my mind. I'm sorry, m'lord. Could you explain it again?" She said, giving him an apologetic look. /I think it's because I took him to the collection of history. He likes it when I retell them. Argh, Scream', why are you always like this?/

"Sector 86. The old ruins. You were supposed to do an in detail report of the ruins and notes of any activity. You were also supposed to note any vandalism of the ruin and repair the fence. Is that too hard for you to do?" He snapped. Whirlwind blinked. There was no reply to her inquiry.

"I'm sorry. I'll head over there now. Can you take Stormbringer so I won't need to watch him when I go?"

"Yes. Now get on with it!" Starscream growled, taking the sparkling. His hand brushed her arm as she did so, and he sent her love and regret, the normal thing after he went batshit on her. She gave him a little smile as Starscream took the sparkling, and she quickly jogged off. As soon as she got into the hallway, she began running. As usual, several mechs were eyeing her as she zipped past, but Whirlwind ignored them. She headed straight for the jet bay, where there was a runway to take off upon. The bay was empty, except for a napping Ravage and Soundwave who was hurriedly writing something down. He turned around as soon as she entered.

"How are the conditions for flying? I'm going to sector 86."

"Not bad. Horrible air traffic. Clear sky, low wind. Sector 86? A few younger Decepticons have flew there recently." She nodded and walked away from him.

Whirlwind headed toward a great steal door and opened it up. Closing it behind her, she sighed. The breeze was cool and refreshing outside, the runway stretched out in front of her. She waved to Thundercraker, who was leaning against a pile of blown tires. He nodded to her in greeting. Whirlwind quickly transformed into her sleek jet form, a beautiful F-15 eagle jet. Hers was slightly modified, with larger wings that were backwards. Large guns were mounted on top of the wings, with missiles just under them. It was navy and had stripes of hot pink on it.

She accelerated down the asphalt, picking up speed rapidly. She was known as the fastest femme in the city. Now, whether that was true or not she wasn't sure, but she was extremely fast. Whirlwind spiralled into the sky, noticing that just above her there were thousands of aircraft levitating in the sky. She sighed. There was a traffic jam up there for some reason. Whirlwind tipped to one side in a sharp turn. She would take a different route; she didn't have to obey the law of staying in the lanes anyway, she was the creator of those rules!

It took around forty five minutes to arrive to sector 86. She transformed still meters away from the ground, deciding to freefall. Although it was dangerous, it was fun. Whirlwind hit the ground in the base of her feet, pain shooting up her legs from the sudden impact. She shrugged it off and looked at the assignment.

It had clearly been a base of some sort. It was made of metal, but it had been attacked sometime and it was destroyed. Well, the roof anyway. No one was allowed to enter; it was supposed to be dangerous. She walked towards it slowly. The chain-link fence that had been put there to keep curious youngsters out had been trampled. The metal walls of the demolished building ere covered with spray paint. She walked forward, noticing the one wall that was completely covered in graffiti.

It was a stylised painting of herself and Starscream. Whirlwind smiled. She remembered coming down here with Starscream one night and painting it. They must had been out here for a good 8 hours painting, and then they had ended up staying there another two hours for stuff sparklings shouldn't see. The painting was of Starscream flying through the sky, with Whirlwind tagging along with a smile on her faceplates. Above it in neon green writing it said plainly, "YOUR LEADERS." She looked up at it fondly. Around it, the scrawl of almost mature sparklings was there in different colours. She read the things that the adolescents had painted there. Some were compliments about Starscream, others saying "Government sucks!", but many of them were compliments about Whirlwind.

She walked around that wall to the back of the building. More random sayings, quotes opinions and love notes were left scrawled all over the back it. It seemed that this was a very popular place to be. Whirlwind could see why. This old building was quite fascinating, and it was in the middle of nowhere. She felt connected to this old place somehow- as if she had been here a very long time.

Pulling out an unused data pad Whirlwind jotted down the status report on this sector. As usual- nothing would be done about the problems, but it seemed that the other Decepticons were interested in its status. Whirlwind had just finished writing down the last sentence in her report when she heard a loud voice. She looked up and stepped back in surprise.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

After around 5 minutes, Bumblebee had gotten tired of the rec room. He couldn't bear to look at Optimus, and the other two had went into recharge because they were extremely tired. Bumblebee stepped over bodies going to the door. It had been knocked down at some point, and the only thing that stopped him from leaving was a metal beam that should be easy enough to move. He could see the hallway from around the beam. He began to shove the beam out of his way when he heard a faint groan.

"Bumblebee... Where are you going?"

"Outside. Maybe I'll find help."

"Will you come back?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"I promise."

He heard a faint murmur in reply but his leader had fallen into recharge. Bee shoved the beam out of his way and it fell back onto the floor of the hallway. He stepped out cautiously. The hallway's floor was missing in some parts. Bumblebee ran forward and jumped over a missing segment of the floor and ran down the hallway. He stopped by a shattered window and looked down. He had heard someone moving around down there. He stood on the window frame, half of his feet in the air. He held onto the frame with his hands and looked out of the window. He spotted a navy and pink femme, who reminded him of someone, but he didn't see her front. He looked closely at her wings. She was a Decepticon- but somehow he knew she wasn't.

Bumblebee jumped out of the window and landed softly on the sand. The scenery had drastically changed. It was the same desert, but the base was covered in graffiti, and shredded chain-link fence was scattered on the ground. He watched the femme turn around to face the wall, and he finally was able to study her profile. A wave of deja vu swept over him. Wasn't that Ark Angel? He watched her jot some notes down.

"Hey!" Bumblebee cried out, running toward her.

The pink and navy femme turned around, a very confused look on her face.

"Ark Angel!" He shouted, engulfing her in a friendly hug.

She yelped and squirmed, shoving him away. "What the slag do you think you're doing?" She shouted at him, pointing a cannon at him.

"I'm Bumblebee! Don't you remember?" He said, even more confused. "I used to bug you all the time in the communications roo-"

"Shut up! I have no idea what the frag your talking about!" She shouted at him. Bumblebee looked at her, his optics locking onto hers. "I'm Whirlwind, second in command of all Decepticons, mate of Starscream!" She added, although her voice wavered in the middle of the sentence.

"Ok..." He said, taking a tentative step back. As he looked at her optics though, he could tell that she recognised that name- Ark Angel- from somewhere.

Whirlwind's spark was pulsing hard in it's chamber. She stood tall, arm cannon humming softly, but on the inside she was a hurricane of emotion. Why was he calling her that? That was the name from all her dreams. Where had he come from? He couldn't possibly come from inside that scrapheap of a building.  
And what were that weird symbol on him? It looked vaguely like the Decepticon signal- but different.

"Who is Ark Angel?" She said quietly, lowering her cannon. The golden bot seemed to loosen up and he took a step forward. There was something extremely familiar about him.

"A young Autobot femme I once knew. She was in charge of a section of communications and she talked to humans. She was a very good warrior. She looked just like you." He spoke. His optics were boring into hers, and she looked at his for a second, but then looked away. "She talked like you too."

"Well it must be a coincidence." Whirlwind said sharply, but she was yearning for more information. She wanted to know what an Autobot was, mostly. "What's your name?"

"Bumblebee."

"Well, Bumblebee, I'll let you go now, but don't sneak up on higher Decepticons like that. I should have blown your fragging head off." She said quickly, turning around and running off. She transformerd quickly and rose into the air, gaining altitude by almost flying vertically.

Whirlwind knew she had to tell Starscream about this, but she wasn't so sure if she should. There was something inside her that argued against it. The image of the bot was still burned into her processor as she flew back towards the government building. Bumblebee. The name echoed in her mind.

* * *

"Bye, Ark Angel..."

Bumblebee watched the femme fly off. He was going to tell her about Optimus, but he decided against it, he didn't want the Decepticons stopping in. This was a very curious time. He looked at the wall beside him, at the airbrushed painting of Whirlwind and Starscream, and couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed. Why was she a Decepticon all of a sudden? He wished she hadn't left so soon. There were so many questions swirling around in his head. There had been a time when he had been extremely fond of her, but that faded away over time. He knew that femme had been Ark Angel- Her energy signature was the same as the one he remembered.

Bumblebee jumped up and grabbed on to the window ledge in the second level, puling himself up. His feet scraped against the wall as he climbed back into the hallway. He pushed himself up and finally tumbled into the hallway, rolling headfirst into the metal corridor. He stood up and was about to continue walking but he was stopped by a muffle shout from behind one of the doors. He walked toward the door that had the shouting and knocked on it. Suddenly, two excited voices blared on his internal communicator.

_/HEY BEE! This is SIDESWIPE!/_

_/SUNSTREAKER HERE!/_

_/We've been stuck inside this stupid room for eight years!/_

Bumblebee was happy and surprised to hear their voices. The door was blocked by two steel beams. He grabbed one and pulled on it while the twins chattered excitedly in his audio receptor.

_/It was REALLY boring./_

_/But it's a good thing there was lots of energon here!/_

_/The door's blocked form the outside-/_

_/-we were going to blow it into slag, but we thought-/_

_/-that maybe we'd also blow up our own floor./_

Bumblebee winced as they caught each other off while shouting over the communications link. _/You two are going to blow my receptors into bits./ _He said, puling off the second beam. It took a few commands for his limbs to move correctly._ /Try opening the door now./_

He heard a few grunts and in a few seconds the door was thrown open and Sunstreaker tumbled out. Sides followed him. They both looked ok, their paint was chipped in some places and their armour slightly dented in some places.

"Bee? What the frag happened to you?" Sideswipe said. He wiggled his optic ridges. "Nice protoform, by the way."

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later." He said, feeling slightly embarrassed that his protoform was clearly visible and his armour only covered a quarter of him.

"At least your interface appliance wasn't blown off." Sunstreaker laughed.

"You see, when our base was blown up, we hid under a table." Sides added. "Because we're extremely smart. Unlike you."

Bumblebee rolled his optics. "I'm surprised you two weren't at the party. I can't believe you just stayed in your office."

Sunstreaker shrugged. "We have lotsa high grade and energon and stuff in there anyway. Plus Prime wanted us to do a report. Where is Prime, anyway?"

Bee gave a sad little sigh. "Follow me." He said quietly, running off. They jumped over the holes in the floor and reached Rec Room C fairly quickly. He stopped in front of it. "I'll see if he's awake."

Bumblebee knocked on the wall beside the door. "Prime? You awake?"

"Yeah. Well, now I am." He groaned. Bumblebee walked in, Sunny and Sides followed him. The twins grew very quiet upon seeing the bodies of Autobots, and stared unbelievingly at Optimus. Bumblebee elbowed there when they said nothing.

"Hi, Optimus. It's Sideswipe."

"And Sunstreaker."

Optimus' optics glinted brighter in the dark. It seemed to relieve him a bit to see his online comrades, even if they were the extremely annoying twins. "Bumblebee, you found them!?"

"Well, they kinda found me..."

"We were chilling in our office when everything got blown up. We hid under a table so we didn't really get hurt." Sideswipe explained.

"Me and Sides have been awake a lot longer than you have. We heard Bumblebee being yelled at by some chick outside, so we started yelling, because we couldn't get out of the office." Sunny said very quickly. Prime chuckled.

"Who was that you were talking to, Bumblebee?"

Bumblebee shifted uncomfortably. "Ark Angel."

Prime raised an optic ridge. "I thought she was in here with us."

"I guess not. When I went out into the hallway, everything had the slag blown out of it, and I couldn't find her body. I saw her outside. She's a Decepticon now-"

"A what?" Prime sounded shocked.

"Yeah, A Decepticon. She's the mate of Starscream now, and apparently, the second-in-command of the Decepticons. She was calling herself 'whirlwind'. I know it's her though, it was her energy signal." Bumblebee said.

Optimus blinked. "I would never have guessed..." He said quietly. Ark Angel had been one of his most loyal Autobots, it made no sense to him. His optics flickered offline as he went back into a peaceful recharge.

"He can't be awake too long." Bumblebee explained. "His systems can't take it."

"He's been through a lot. His arm's gone." Sunstreaker said thoughtfully.

"Is there anyone else awake?" Sides added.

"Yeah. Hot Rod and Arcee." Bumblebee said. He sidestepped so the twins could look at them. Arcee had fallen into recharge, curled up in a little ball in Hot Rod's arm. Hot Rod's optics were dimmed as he drifted through consciousness. "I'm trying to sleep, thanks." He muttered, looking up at Bumblebee and the twins.

The trio retreated out of the room, going back to the twin's office. Their office wasn't too badly damaged, Sunny and Sides had obviously cleaned it up in all their spare time. The table that once stood in the middle of the room was broken into pieces and shoved through the holes in the roof to 'patch' it up. Their office consisted of two desks, two computers, a worn down sofa and a fridge full of who knows what. There was also a screen that picked up human television and worked as a computer. Nobody had really spent much time in here except for Sunny and Sides. The twins didn't like bots in here for some reason. Probably because all of their pranking material was shoved in the drawers of the desk.

"It's not much, but it's better than resting among the ones in stasis." Sideswipe shrugged, opening the fridge and digging around in it. He pulled out some regular energy maintaining drinks. "Me and Sunny have stored up enough stuff in here to last fifty years." He chuckled. "You can never be too prepared for a random party."

Bumblebee sat on the worn down couch. It was slightly lumpy an the fabric had worn away in some places but it was better than sitting on the floor. The twins plopped into their office chairs. "Whatever shot at us didn't damage this room very much at all. The table collapsed on our heads though." Sunstreaker said, propping his feet up on the desk. "How we didn't die of boredom is a miracle. Try being trapped in here for eight years. Stupid stasis ended early."

* * *

It was late afternoon when Whirlwind finally entered the communications room. She waked up to Starscream's desk and put the data pad on his desk. Starscream nodded when she looked at him. Stormbringer was on the desk having fun doodling on a spare data pad.

"No interferences?"

"No." Whirlwind was unsure of whether or not she should tell him about the odd meeting she had with Bumblebee, whoever that was. She'd probably tell him later.

"Good. Your free for the rest of the day." Starscream said, handing her Stormbringer. The sparkling moved its limbs about excitedly, bleeping and chirping. The youngling thrust the data pad in Whirlwind's face. "Mom!" He beeped enthusiastically.

The drawing was supposed ton be of her. It looked more like an exploding dorito than a robot, but Whirlwind smiled at him and rubbed his cheek with her fingertips as she walled out the double doors into the hallway. "Thank you. It is a very nice drawing, and I'll put it up on the wall beside the one of Daddy." She smiled down at him, and the child clapped his hands in joy.

She was suddenly stopped in mid walk by a pair of rough hands on her shoulders. She sighed.

"What do you want, Shockwave?" Whirlwind said in a tired voice as she was spun around rather forcibly to face the purple mech as he pushed her against the wall.

"I don't understand why you put up with that jerk Starscream." He spoke in a hoarse whisper. A couple of young scouts walking down the hall gave the pair weird looks, but then quickly hurried away. "There are much better mechs."

Whirlwind kicked him in the knee, causing him to jump back in pain. She scowled at him, while Stormbringer giggled. The silly sparkling seemed to love violence. "Shut up, Shockwave. I don't need your pervy antics right now." She snapped, walking away rather quickly, rolling her optics. Shockwave was constantly after her, and it annoyed the slag out of her. She heard him shout something after her but she ignored it.

When she finally came to a large metal door she stopped and entered. It was the library of Cybertronian history. The data pads documented everything about Cybertron and its history. Shelves of holographic projections and data pads lined the wall, thousands of history resources just waiting to be read. A few young scouts and sparklings wandered around gathering material for their school assignments, and a few other Decepticons sat on one of the many couches. Stormbringer cried out in glee as she took a holographic projector from the shelves and settled down on a soft, velvet couch.

"This one's called The Battle With The Autobots." She said. Autobot. Like Bumblebee. That was where she'd heard all of Autobots, from history. Curious.

Pictures began to be projected into the air, scenes of great battles. It even included a panorama shot of the Autobots. She watched in curiosity. The screen paused at the picture of a huge Autobot- and it was red and blue, just like the one she had been dreaming about. Whirlwind paused the projector when it spoke his name.

"The leader of the Autobots, pictured here, is Optimus Prime." Droned the projector just before she paused it.

* * *

Bumblebee and the twins spent the afternoon discussing things and sharing figments of what they could remember. The twins had been calling him Cyclops because he only had one working optic. Bumblebee pretended to by angry, But it was nice how the twins could make light of almost anything. Later on. Hot Rod and Arcee joined them. Sunstreaker had stuffed a bunch of blankets in a cupboard- for napping purposes, he said- and gave one to each Autobot. It was about eleven o' clock when Hot Rod and Arcee had both fallen back asleep and it was just Bumblebee and the twins again. Well, so they thought, until they heard laughter and cheering from outside.

Bumblebee peeked out the door and through the window. The twins were right behind him, poking him in the back. He turned around with slight annoyance. "No, they aren't ghosts or Dinobots." He said quickly before the twins could speak. "They're just teenagers, wandering around." Bumblebee shrugged, but Sideswipe had a devious look on his face.

"I have an idea." Sideswipe smirked, moving cautiously out into the hallway. He then laid flat on his front and shimmied up to the window's ledge. Sunstreaker did the same, lying down beside him. Bumblebee just looked at them.

"Watch this!" Sideswipe said, projecting a hologram down on the ground, a few meters away from the group of adolescents. The hologram looked very real and gruesome. It only had half a head, no arms, and one leg, so it hopped around on its one foot. It was a hologram of Sunstreaker.

Sunstreaker's hologram was one of a regular Bumblebee. It was walking around mindlessly. There was one thing about it that was different: It was hot pink with ice blue hearts all over it.

Bumblebee lay down beside Sideswipe, projecting a hologram of Jazz. This Jazz was dressed up in a fluffy pink tutu, had a fairy wand in his hand, and a black bowler hat on his head. The three holograms hopped, danced, and jumped toward the group of teenagers. There were five of the young Decepticons in all.

One of them saw the hologram or the dead Sunstreaker and started screaming. The others were staring at the hologram of Jazz as it jumped in the air, did a back flip, spun on its head, did a pirouette and bowed. The one of Bumblebee was singing, shaking its aft and dancing. The adolescents started yelling random things.

"I think it's dead!"

"It's a ghost!"

"It's a gangster!"

"It's a corpse!"

"It's a ballerina!"

"It's your mom!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

The dead Sunstreaker was hopping after the five of the teens like mad, while letting out a horrible cry. Jazz was still dong random ballet moves, but it eventually stopped doing that and turned around. The hologram began doing back flips in the direction of the adolescents (who were running away, being scared by the dead Sunstreaker and mentally scarred for life by the Bumblebee hologram's dancing and audio receptor shattering singing.).

The Autobots were trying to stop from erupting in a laughing fit as the teens ran away being chased by the holograms. The Bumblebee hologram was chasing the femme declaring that she was sexy-fine while Jazz had begun spinning around on his toes, perfectly spotting like an actual dancer.

"I WILL EAT YOU IN YOUR RECHARGE CYCLES." The Sunstreaker hologram was screaming quite loudly. The teens instantly transformed and flew off as fast as they possibly could. When they had all disappeared into the sky, the trio began laughing their vocal processors out.

"Your sexy-fine." Said the Bumblebee hologram as it pointed at the dead and rotting projection of Sunstreaker. With a soft click, the trio turned off their holographic projectors while still giggling like mad.

"Did you see the look on their faces?" Sides chortled as he tried to stand up but fell back down on his aft.

"That was AWESOME!" Sunstreaker said as he literally rolled on the floor laughing.

Bumblebee stood up, a great smile on his face as he laughed. "You guys are insane."

"We know!" Sides said as the twins high fived. The twins then got up and started walking back to their office. "You coming, Cyclops?"

"In a bit. I'm going to go check on Optimus. See you guys in a bit." Bumblebee said. He hadn't seen Optimus in a while, in fact, he hadn't gone back to him since he had brought the twins there. Bumblebee grabbed a large piece of metal and put it over the hole in the floor so he wouldn't have to jump over it anymore. The metal was stable and he walked on it with ease and confidence. He turned and walked into the rec room.

Optimus had pressed himself into the corner were the counter and the wall met. He was shaking, one hand clamped over his mouth to prevent screams of pain. Bumblebee quickly rushed to his side, and Optimus turned his head slightly to look at him.

"B-Bumblebee?" He moaned. "Why didn't you come earlier?"

"I'm so sorry!" Bumblebee said. "I got kind of carried away talking to the twins-"

"It's fine." He grunted before clenching his jaw and shaking again. Bumblebee put his hand on the side of his leader's face, and he rubbed it to make him feel better. Optimus quieted and the shaking became not so violent.

"Do I have a virus?"

Bumblebee heard him gasp. Bumblebee moved his hand down to Optimus' and grasped it in his own, squeezing it reassuringly. "I'm sure it will be fine." Bumblebee said softly, running his thumb over the back of Optimus' hand, feeling the joints of it. Optimus' spark slowed from its alarmingly rapid state, Bumblebee noticed with his scanners. Bumblebee patted Optimus' arm, although he longed to do more.

"Are you ok now?"

Optimus paused as Bumblebee looked into his optics. Concern was evident on Bumblebee's face. "Not yet."

Bumblebee gave him a questioning look. That was quickly replaced by surprise when bumblebee found himself being pulled up on Optimus. Optimus placed his hand on Bumblebee's back and ran his thumb down the younger soldier's spine. It made Bumblebee shiver, not in pain, but in happiness.

"Doesn't this hurt you...?" Bumblebee gasped as Optimus rested his hand in the center of his back.

"No. I haven't felt happier."

With that, Bumblebee found himself wrapping his arms around Optimus' neck. The weird sense of liking- loving- that he'd felt around Optimus came back. But this time, it was much stronger. Optimus pressed his forehead against Bumblebee's, and Bumblebee found himself staring into the most magnificent optics he'd ever seen. Optimus softly kissed Bumblebee on the lips, causing Bumblebee to almost jump back in surprise, but he found himself tightening his grip on Optimus' neck as he kissed him harder, chewing lightly on Optimus' lower lip. Optimus ran is hand up and down Bumblebee's back, holding him tightly against his chest. It seemed to not matter to Optimus that he was severely wounded.

Bumblebee broke the kiss, rubbing his forehead affectionately against Prime's. He never knew that a mech's optics could be so blue, so clear- as if he stared at them long enough, the truth of everything would be told.

"You won't go back with the twins- will you?" Prime said, his hand rubbing the back of Bumblebee's head.

"No, I won't. I never knew I loved you this much, Optimus. I knew I liked you a lot more than ay of the other Autobots, but I guess I never really saw the whole truth." Bumblebee said gently, lifting a hand to caress Optimus' cheek, running his fingers over Optimus' lips.

Prime smiled. "I always admired you for your bravery, you were so small, but you are willing to do anything. I really do love you." Optimus Prime said. "If I had another arm I'd hug you."

Bumblebee held his lover's neck tighter, as he felt Optimus' pulse slow as the two slowly declined into recharge. Bumblebee curled up on Optimus' chest, a contented smile on his face as he drifted into recharge in Optimus' grasp.

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the holes in the roof, along with the door. Bumblebee's optic came online, and he found himself staring at the red flame of Prime's arm. He smiled and looked up to his resting face. He was incredibly handsome, even with an arm torn off and many battle wounds. Bumblebee opened his mouth to say something-

-but was cut off by the roar of a jet engine.

* * *

The end! Sorry this chapter was so long. Please R&R! I'll update it when I get 5 new reviews- I'd like to know if people are reading this.


	6. Doublecheck

**Author's Notes: ** I am so sorry this took so long to write up! I wrote it by hand and I was too lazy to type it up.

* * *

**-Hopeless-**

_Chapter 6: Doublecheck_

Bumblebee listened to the roar of the jet engine. Oh slag, he thought, clambering off Optimus and standing up quickly. The engine cut off and he heard whoever it was transform. As he started to leave Optimus murmured something unintelligible. Bumblebee turned around, pressing his finger to his mouth in a 'shh' sign. Optimus Prime gave him a look but nodded. With that, Bumblebee jogged out of the room, careful not to make noise as he left.

Bee reached a window and quite tentatively he looked out of it. What he saw was quite surprising and it was not who had he anticipated at all. Stormbringer pointed at the golden Autobot who had jumped down to the ground. "Boom!" He said from his mother's arms.

"What...?" Bumblebee questioned.

Whirlwind gave him a lopsided smile. "He remembers you from an old history video."

Bumblebee raised an optic ridge. This was rather confusing to him. Why was she here? He thought she would think of him as an enemy.

As if she could read his thoughts she spoke again. "I'm here because my son wanted to see you." Whirlwind lowered her son to the ground and watched as the curious sparkling ran forward. Stormbringer ran up to Bumblebee's foot and climbed up the Autobot to sit on his shoulder. He chirped excitedly into the Autobot's audio receptors, pointing at Bee's arm. "BIG gun."

Bumblebee was bewildered as the sparkling wrapped his arms around Bumblebee's head. "My son is quite interested in history. We were just doing some research in the library and we saw you in a video along with Ark Angel." Whirlwind said shyly, smiling a bit as she continued. "She really is a lot like me. Well, she is pretty much exactly like me. You were really brave, going in there and fighting like that. My son adores you. I told him I had met the Autobot Bumblebee and he was very excited."

The sparkling was now poking at Bee's face with much curiosity. He was fascinated by the fact that Bumblebee had only one working optic. He chirped with happiness when Bumblebee used his other arm to hold on to the sparkling's tiny hand.

"The Decepticons did some really nasty things, though." Whirlwind said softly. "Do you think you could tell us more about it?"

Bumblebee pondered this as the sparkling clung to his head. He still wasn't so trusting of the girl but he gave a slight nod and then put the sparkling on the ground. Bee sat on the ground after Whirlwind did so. "Where should we begin?"

"WAR!" Bleeped Stormbringer as he settled into his mother's lap.

"He means the great wars." Whirlwind chuckled, cradling her sparkling.

"Hmmm... That was quite a long time ago but I remember it as if it were yesterday..."

* * *

Bumblebee lay on his back staring into the clear sky above him. "We thought Megatron was dead but another guy called Galvatron showed up." Bumblebee finished. He must have talked for at least six hours, as it had was sunset now. Whirlwind had been lying down beside him, and the sparkling was in between them. Nobody came around here during the day.

Whirlwind propped herself up on her elbow joints. "Wow. I can't believe we were so brutal. I think we ought to go now though, Starscream's probably wondering where we are." She said, standing up and moving away so she could transform. Stormbringer clambered into the seat of the jet. Bumblebee waved. "We'll be back tomorrow!" She shouted using unseen speakers to project her voice. She then rocketed off into the sky.

Bumblebee watched her fly off. The femme and her sparkling, Stormbringer, were quite interesting. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had joined them a few hours ago but they left to go see Optimus. Bee had kept a low profile, not telling her anything about the state Prime was in. She and the sparkling seemed to be genuinely fascinated by his accounts on various battles. He had found that the femme was shocked by the Decepticon's past. In the things she had read or watched the Decepticons had seemed to be the defenders of right, but in truth, they weren't. Bee was also surprised by how much she cared to hear both sides of the story. Most Decepticons would automatically assume that their side was the right one instead of comparing the two accounts.

Bumblebee went back to the room where Optimus lay just as the sky turned into a brilliant shade of rouge and navy. He entered the room to find quite a surprise. Ratchet was standing beside Optimus, checking his systems with a diagnostic scan. Icefire was standing beside the medic jotting notes down on a data pad she had obviously got from the twin's office, judging on the fact the pad had a picture of Sunny's alt mode on the top of the page. "I suspect that most will be coming out of stasis lock soon, when their spark senses other active sparks they'll be awoken." She was saying to Ratchet. "You've learned well." The medic said to his apprentice. Icefire turned around when she heard Bumblebee entered the room, and she gave him one of her shy smiles.

"Hey, Bee." She said in her soft, light voice. The lanky femme had to lean forward slightly in order to be able to stand up. She looked okay, fairly dented but fine. Ratchet was also pretty good but it as clear he had been mending himself. He had a lot of gashes, especially on his face. . The medic nodded at Bee and hen continued to work on Prime. His finger had transformed into a welding tool and he was mending the severed shoulder by coating it with a circular sheet of metal he had cut from the roof.

"Hello, Icefire. Is Optimus okay?"

"Fine. Ratchet's just putting a protective sheet of metal over the place where his arm used to be."

"Bumblebee!" The leader gasped. "I've been missing you."

"It's true. He's been asking for you all day." Ratchet grumbled.

"We also cleaned this place up a bit because we were bored. Hot Rod and Arcee were here too, but they found an office they could get into so they left to be by themselves." Icefire spoke, moving her arm in a sweeping motion. The room was very clean now, it was neat. They had pulled the debris off the Autobots and piled it into one corner of the room. They had then taken the bodies and moved them into orderly rows. Ratchet had cut the circular piece of metal from the roof, allowing the room to be well-lit from sunlight. A hologram replaced the spot so the hole would be invisible from above.

"It looks like it was hard but it really wasn't. We all pitched in and helped. Sunny and Sides prepared an office for Optimus too, and tomorrow we'll move him in there." Icefire replied, smiling at Bumblebee.

"I don't like it in here at all." Optimus grunted, his expression turning into one of annoyance. Ratchet finished welding the circular piece from the roof onto Optimus' arm, covering the expose wires. Pieces of metal were scattered around his feet. Ratchet gave a nod, accepting his crude work in his processor and walked off to stand beside Icefire. He was certainly shorter than the femme. Icefire was nearly as tall as Optimus Prime, they were only half a foot's difference. As Bumblebee looked around the room he spotted Optimus' arm lying in a corner. "Why couldn't-"

Ratchet gave the mechanical equivalent of a sigh, cutting of Bumblebee. "The arm has too many viruses to be put on. If I did re-attach it, it would be like putting Optimus to death- but worse. The viruses in it are only attainable to another mech if you fiddle with it's wiring, so don't go poke the wires unless you want to suffer for a very long time."

"Tomorrow I have a visitor coming." Ratchet gave Bumblebee a weird look at his words. Bumblebee nodded. "It was Ark Angel. Apparently we've been in status for 250 000 years. A lot has changed. Cybertronians have adapted Earth's metric system because this planet works differently than Cybertron- it's days are much shorter and such. Ark Angel is now known as Whirlwind- I'm pretty sure someone tampered with her memory, because she's a Decepticon now, and the mate of Starscream. They have a child called Stormbringer who is very interested in history. In case you were wondering who I was talking to today, that was her and her son. I was explaining the wars between the Autobots and Decepticons. Stormbringer really looks up to us, you know."

Ratchet and Icefire were quiet. "Whoa." Icefire then spoke. "I would have never thought..."

"Hmph. Young 'uns these days." Ratchet said. "C'mon Icefire, we ought to let Optimus tell Bumblebee whatever it was."

"Okay. Bee, we'll be back in the morning to do some more system checks and run diagnostics on Optimus and the others. Jazz should be waking up soon, his energy levels are rising steadily. The rest should be waking up soon, their systems are sensing other systems that are online." Icefire said, clutching the data pad to her chestplate and then trotting off behind Ratchet to spend the night in the twin's office. Bumblebee came to Optimus' side and sat by him.

Almost instantly, Optimus had his arm wrapped around Bumblebee, and Bumblebee was nestled tightly against Prime's side. He gave a sigh of contentment before climbing on top of Optimus, putting his head just beneath Prime's jaw. He gave a small whimper when Optimus stroked his back, optics dimming as he traced one of Optimus' now patched up wounds with his digit. "Ratchet did a really good job." He whispered. Prime slightly nodded in reply. "Do you think there's any hope for Ark Angel? She seems kinda brainwashed." Bumblebee said softly, air intakes whirring in a sigh. "She's a strong soldier. Just give her time, it'll come back to her." Prime said, kissing the top of Bee's head. Prime was half surprised when Bumblebee made a noise in his throat, much like a purr. Optimus kissed him again, this time more deeply and Bee hugged him tighter. Bumblebee was recharging in a few minutes, obviously worn out from racking his memory banks for so long. Optimus watched him recharge, smiling to himself. He couldn't help but notice how adorable the younger mech was when he slept.

* * *

Optimus was awoken by Ratchet prodding his forehead with a pointy digit.

"The thing has awoken." Sunstreaker said with mock seriousness.

"We shall try to move it without catching it's disease of stupidity."

Optimus rolled his eyes. He looked a little alarmed when he didn't see Bumblebee looking down at him. "He's gone right now, Op. Talking to Ark Angel. Now, let's get you up. Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, support his middle. Arcee, Hot Rod, carry his arm and shoulders. Don't let his head fall back too much. Ratchet and I will take care of his legs. Got it? Ok.." Icefire commanded.

Optimus was lifted into the air by their co-ordinated effort. They started carrying him out of the room. "You drop me and you're going offline." Prime chuckled as they proceeded out of the room, his broad shoulders scraping the doorframe. The effort to keep Prime off the ground was tremendous, but it was the only way they'd be able to get him from place to place. Prime felt a little sick from the movement and felt as if he was going to hurl energon fluid all over the back of Sideswipe's head. "Hang in there, buddy." Hot Rod grunted. They were almost there. Sunny nearly fell over as he had tripped over a piece of the beam on the floor. This caused a side of Optimus' body to lurch dangerously downward. Sunstreaker quickly straightened his spine and regained his balance at the discontented grunt of Ratchet. They had to squeeze Optimus through the door by angling him sideways through it. Sunny and Sides did this, proclaiming that they were the strongest. The others rushed in to support them. The office was very tidy. Debris had been stuffed in a closet with the door torn off. Optimus was set down on a futon that had the mattress folded out. This was Ironhide's office, probably one of the largest in the base. It had not been affected very much at all (the Decepticons obviously hadn't sensed any signs of life in here, so didn't waste their firepower on this part of the base.). There was a very comfy futon, a hide a bed couch, a regular sofa, an oak coffee table, a mini fridge and a desk. Shattered glass and steel cabinets that held wepons lined the walls.

Sideswipe fluffed the cushions that were by and under Prime's head as Sides put a heavy thermal blanket over Prime's chassis. "D'ya like it, boss?" Sunstreaker said, stepping back.

"It's very comfortable. Thank you so much, all of you. It must have taken a lot of work getting in here without blowing everything up."

"No problem." Arcee said from where she stood with her arm around Hot Rod's waist.

"Don't try to move too much, Optimus." Ratchet spoke. "Your internal systems need to repair themselves on their own because I don't have any medical equipment. Basic antivirus programs that are pre-installed on your system should heal you up, but it will take a while."

"That means no sparkbonding with Bumblebee." The twins said in unison, waggling their index digits at him.

"Oh, shut up!" Optimus laughed, but he felt his faceplates growing hot with embarrassment. How'd they know about him and Bee? They'd probably been spying.

"He can stay in here with you if you want. He can sleep on that hide-a-bed. I'll just flip out the mattress." Arcee said. Hot Rod, Ratchet and Icefire had moved off to admire the weapons that were hung delicately on the walls by Ironhide. "I'd like that very much, if you don't mind. But right now I'm going to get some recharge. I'm already worn out." Optimus sighed as he settled into the soft pillows, optics dimming as he heard Arcee preparing the weapons. The human that invented pillows must have been brilliant, Optimus thought. Of course, Sunny and Sides were giggling amongst themselves. It was most likely some perverted joke about him and Bumblebee, knowing the twins. Prime felt Ratchet come over to inspect him, placing a worn hand on the young leader's forehead as he fell into recharge.

* * *

"PUH-LEEEZE?" Stormbringer was shouting.

Bumblebee shook his head sadly. "If I transformed into my alt mode it could hurt me. See?" Bumblebee pointed to a patch where his protoform was showing through his dirty yellow armour. "My battle armour cold hurt my protoform when it retracted. When I get fixed up I can do it for you, but right now it's too dangerous for me."

"BUT-"

"Hey, you don't want BeeBee to get hurt, do you?" Whirlwind laughed, calling Bumblebee by the name the sparkling had called him. "...No." Stormbringer aid sadly. "But BeeBee car go ZOOM!" He said, throwing his arms around for emphasis. "BeeBee car POWER."

Bumblebee picked up the sparkling and rubbed his forehead against the sparkling's. It was very late in the evening now, already quite dark. "I think it's time to say goodbye to BeeBee now." He whispered, setting the sparkling back down.

"Yeah, it is. Your daddy wants you home. You're getting a new upgrade tonight." Whirlwind smiled, transforming smoothly into her alt mode. "See you tomorrow." She said through unseen speakers. "Bye, Bumblebee!" Stormbringer shouted as he clambered into the cockpit of his mother's jet mode.

"Hey! He said my name!" Bumblebee chuckled, watching as Whirlwind began to taxi off. He walked back to the wall and climbed it skilfully. There were now foot and handholds carved into the wall. He scaled it with ease and launched himself in a summersault into the corridor.

* * *

Whirlwind tapped her foot as the elevator ascended up the center of the building. A couple of humans stood by her foot carrying data pads over their heads, obviously delivering them to some mech. The elevator gave off a high pitched ding as it reached the top floor. This floor was mainly where another launching pad and runway was, along with Starscream's quarters and a med bay. She stepped out of the elevator to find the hallway buzzing with activity. She assumed a meeting had just ended as mechs and femmes were spilling out from several board rooms. She caught sight of Starscream, who was quite tall and stood out in the crowd, mostly from his proud and defiant stance. Several mechs were clustered around him shouting questions at him. He was answering them sharply. Whirlwind cut through the crowd (well, most moved out of her way) holding her son's hand. She smiled sweetly at the cluster of mechs. "Sorry, but Starscream's off duty now, so I'd advise you leave." The various news reporters and soldiers instantly turned around and left towards the elevators. Stormbringer giggled and clapped his hands when Starscream smiled at them both. He seemed to be in a good mood, as he quickly kissed Whirlwind on the forehead. "Thanks for getting those idiots off my case." He grinned. Starscream put his arm around Whirlwind's waist and the trio marched down the hallways, Stormbringer waving enthusiastically at anybody who passed them. They approached the med bay, where a medic called Quen was waiting for Stormbringer's medical check up and upgrade. Starscream knocked on the door, and the dark green mech answered.

"Doctor!" Stormbringer grinned. The old mech nodded. "Second upgrade with systems check?" Quen inquired to Starscream. The medic wasn't one for small walk. He was right to the point.

"Yes." Starscream said as Quen opened the door wider so Stormbringer could rush in and sit up on the examination table.

"You can pick him up in the morning then. The operation will take several hours, and I'll be reformatting a section of his hard drive." Quen grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. "Goodnight." He said simply and closed the door.

Starscream planted a kiss on the side of Whirlwind's helm. "Second upgrade, imagine that? He'll be getting his battle armour and first alt mode, and an upgrade for his vocal systems." Starscream said as they walked to their quarters.

"Mmmhm." Whirlwind yawned as she opened the door to their room. Starscream's grip on her waist tightened, and the two were locked in a passionate kiss before the door was closed, earning the disturbed stares from passing scouts who just happened to be walking in the hallway at that time.

* * *

Bumblebee woke up to the normal sound of a jet engine. He had slept in Optimus' temporary quarters when Ratchet told him what had happened when he was gone. Prime still slept away, air vents making a noise that could be interpreted as snoring, oblivious to the world. Bee sat up in bed, blinking his optics on and off to wake him up. He got up and walked past Optimus Prime quietly, not disturbing his sleep. Once out of the office, he ran down the hall. Eager to see Ark Angel. The last topic they had discussed was his new alt mode, the concept Camaro.

He quickly jumped out of the window, hitting the sand with a loud thump. He stood up straight and smiled at Whirlwind.

Well, he had expected Whirlwind.

He stepped back in horror as he saw not Whirlwind, but Starscream's sneering expression.


	7. Squaredance

**Author's Notes: **Short chapter. I couldn't put this part in with anything else, I didn't want to eliminate the suspense :P

* * *

**-Hopeless-**_  
Chapter 7: Squaredance  
_

Whirlwind sat up in bed, rubbing the side of her face as she yawned. It must have been at least 9 in the morning. Her mate was already up and gone. She smiled a little thinking of last night when they had sparkbonded. His spark was so beautiful... She dragged herself out of bed and stretched. She wondered why he was gone, there weren't any major meetings or anything today. She blinked as her internal communications link went off with a loud beep. It was Soundwave.

/_Whaddya want../ _she grumbled sleepily, stumbling around in the darkness, trying to find her leg armour that Starscream had oh-so-gracefully torn off her.

_/Head down to the main floor. We seem to have an unexpected guest./_ Whirlwind snorted and rolled her optics, abruptly shutting off the com link as she snapped some of her armour back into place on her thigh. She walked out of the room to find that the halls were completely deserted. That's strange, she thought. Normally this floor was busy in the morning. As she passed the med bay she remembered she'd have to pick up Stormbringer soon. She quickly ot into an empty elevator and reached the ground floor, the elevator doors whooshing open.

"HOLD HIM STEADY!" She was confused as shouting was the first thing to meet her audios. She walked out and found the floor was crowded. Several mechs were shouting and a couple were wounded from some source. Frantic shouts echoed across the room. "Get him down, now! The sedative wore off!" She heard the screeching of her mate. She slid through the crowd to find four or five mechs along with Starscream clutching on to a yellow mech... Bumblebee. What the frag was he doing here?

Bumblebee looked up as he tried to pry a set of fingers off his arms, kicking and writhing in the grasp of several Seekers. His optics met those of Whirlwind's. "Whirlwind!" He shouted desperately. Starscream finally found a syringe full of greenish liquid which was a very strong sedative. The young Autobot cried out as Starscream plunged the syringe into Bee's neck, hitting an energon stream in his neck, the sedative making Bumblebee lock up, optics going offline. "You can let go of him now." Starscream commanded the others. Bumblebee was dropped on the floor. Starscream turned to Whirlwind. He was angry.

"We'll be taking him in for questioning." Starscream snarled.

Whirlwind looked shocked. Why in the name of Primus did Starscream kidnap him and bring him here? Unless...

"Yesterday I tracked your energy signal and found you with this scrapheap. What the pit is going on here?" Starscream barked.

"We were just talking... I was curious..." Starscream was positively raging now, radiating heat.

"What are you? Some kind of traitor?! Did you pull him out of stasis?!" Starscream yelled, living up his name. "I killed him! I know I did... I remember! Why is this Autobot alive?"

"I don't know.. I met him.." Whirlwind stammered. "He was already awake when I got there. I came back the next day, when I figured out who he was by reading up on history. Why didn't you tell me about any of this?"

Starscream did not respond to her question. He looked down at the captive and smirked, eyes travelling back to Whirlwind. "Then I guess he is of no use, after being in stasis for so long, nobody else was there. He'll be terminated tomorrow."

"No!" Whirlwind cried out. "He's my friend! He didn't do anything wr-"

In one swift motion, Starscream's right hand went up and he whirled around with great force. His fist hit the side of Whirlwind's face, causing her to be propelled sideways. She slammed into the nearby wall. Starscream's anger had gotten the best of him. Her cheek was severely dented. Starscream was fuming. "Do-not-question-me!" He snarled. Starscream turned to the other Seekers and some young soldiers. "Take him to the brig. Execution will be tomorrow morning. I'm questioning him first." Starscream snapped, watching as Bumblebee was dragged away. He smirked down at Whirlwind, and then strutted off.

Whirlwind groaned from her spot on the floor as she heard Starscream walk away. Anger pulsed through her chasis, and she found she was quivering. Quiverig from fear, anger, and panic at Bumblebee's state. She slowly climbed up, faceplates tender as energon trickled from a cut. Her face was throbbing with pain. She knew what she had to do. Whirlwind was leaving. Taking Bumblebee and Stormbringer with her. She couldn't stand this place now, and she was doubting Starscream's loyalty to her. She quickly ran into an elevator and hit all the buttons, crumpling on the floor as she sobbed into her hands. Her toe was firmly pressed on the 'close doors' button to prevent them from opening at the many stops. A plot was forming in her mind as she wrapped her arms around herself for comfort, tears rolling down her dented face. Reaching the top floor she ran out, ignoring anyone that stared at her tear stained and beaten face. She was unaware of the prying optics as she pushed through the crowded hallway. She knocked on the med bay's door, shouting for Quen to give her Stormbringer. The elder opened the door, and a completely different mech walked out.

If Stormbringer's appearance was human, one would say he would be around 12 or 13 years old. He was a preteen now, past sparklinghood. He was taller, and new battle armour shone where his protoform was. The altmode he had chosen was an F-22 Eagle jet, an upgrade from his paent's model. He had broad shoulders, and his back was arched backward so his armoured chest seemed to be puffed out proudly (which it was). He was a dazzling crimson and ebony mech. He had an areodynamic helm with an ebony visor. His helm was sleek, with long audio receptors that were angled back with sharp ends. He had a defiant smirk on his face as he strolled out into the hallway. His feet were wide, and you could think of it as wearing steel-toed boots. His lower legs were black along with his lower arms and shoulders. The rest of his chassis was a metallic red. No symbol was pressed onto his extra-wide wings yet; he was of no alliance.

"Hello, mother." He said calmly. Stormbringer was as tall as his mother now, and with his next upgrade would probably make him even taller. His voice was deep and smooth for one so young, unlike Starscream's higher pitched vocal processor.

"Quen; you did a great job!" Whirlwind said thankfully to the old medic. He nodded.

"He chose the design, colours, everything. That's one smart boy you have there." The elder spoke before closing the door.

"What happened to your face?" Stormbringer asked, running his thumb on Whirlwind's dent gently.

"Oh, nothing." Whirlwind said quickly, gently brushing her son's hand away. He was so mature and sincere. "I'm so proud of you."

Stormbringer beamed at his mother's approval. "I'm still the annoying young sparkling you love."

"Really?" She smiled, rubbing the top of his head affectionately. He shot glances at a few femmes that walked down the hallway. The femmes grinned at him and then walked away. Whirlwind laughed and shook her head. Of course, his interface systems would register now, and he'd probably become a lot more interested in the femmes that were around the base. "Want to go try out your alt mode for a few hours? I bet I can fly faster than you."

"Bring it on!"

* * *

Bumblebee looked around the empty cell as the sedative wore off. The cell was bare except for a door that had no window; the place was illuminated by a single bar of energy on the celing. Two energon cubes were in the corner, and he drank them greedily. After he had guzzled down the energon, he seemed to grasp the idea of what was really going on. He was going to die tomorrow. He shuddered, sitting in the middle of the room, hugging himself as the tears started to come. Just a while ago he'd been questioned. He refused to answer. That resulted in horrific torture, and he now had large wounds all over him, and dents in what remained of his armor. Bumblebee shivered. He'd never see Optimus again, or Hot Rod, or Prowl, or the twins, or Ratchet, or any of the fembots... He'd never get the chance to actually date Optimus, or love him again. He buried his head into his arm. He felt hopelessly alone, like when he had been the only Autobot on earth. Waves of grief came over his processor. He'd die alone. But at least he didn't say anything to the Decepticons about the Autbots. They had been dumb enough to believe that he was the only survivor. And when they had finally tortured him enough they just left him alone and told him he was going to be dead tomorrow. Bumblebee quivered, and to his surprise, started reciting something from his memory banks.

"The death of one is a tragedy...But death of a million is just a statistic..."

He could remember now. One of his favorite songs, one that always made him feel better for some odd reason. He couldn't remember the name of it or the artist, but he definentaly remembered the lyrics. Shame he hadn't saved the MP3 in his memory bank either.

"But I'm not a slave to a God that doesn't exist...But I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit.. Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

He said, tapping his foot on the floor, remembering the rythm. He stood up, wiping tears away, then leaning against a wall. Maybe he was going to die, but he wouldn't die wallowing in his sorrow. Bee looked around the room. He knew one thing; he was going to try to get out of here.

* * *

PS. The song Bumblebee was remembering was 'The Fight Song' by Marilyn Manson. If you haven't heard it, go on youtube and look it up! It's one kickass song.


	8. For The Reunion

**-Hopeless-**_  
Chapter 8: For the Reunion  
_

Stormbringer was laughing as he transformed in mid flight, dropping down onto the runway. He had beaten his persistent mother 18 times out of 20 races. He hit the runway at a full run as his mother landed beside him still in jet form. The youth was positively beaming, although he knew his mom had probably let him win. He watched as his mother transformed, smiling down at him. It was now sunset and they had been flying around for a very long time. Stormbringer hugged his mother. "Thanks, mom. I had a great time today." He smiled and stepped back from her. They were the only two on the runway, the golden light glinting off their armour. "But I think you should get Quen to check out that dent." He had stopped bugging his mother about why the dent was there and hadn't brought it up again until now. Whirlwind stroked the side of her face. It didn't hurt anymore unless she touched it.

"I'm fine. How about you head back to your room? I'm pretty sure your father would want to see your new upgrades." Whirlwind forced a smile on her face at the mention of Starscream. She was angry, and a bit scared. "I have a bunch of work to do." They were on the second highest level, it hosted all of the runways, a med bay and several offices, including hers. "Tonight I'm going to need your help.. for a surprise. But don't tell your father, okay, hon?" She said, patting her son's shoulder. He nodded and ran off, seeing a friend from school that just landed.

She did intend to do something tonight. It would be dangerous and risky, and if she were ever caught, it could be seen as treason. She was going to set Bumblebee free and run away with him and Stormbringer. She'd most likely bring a bunch of medical tools and medicines with her for Ratchet. Whirlwind sighed and walked away. Four more hours, and then it would be dark and quiet enough to leave. Damn, what would she do to waste that much time?

* * *

Optimus Prime was sitting straight up in bed, dental plates grinding against each other in his mouth. His optics were closed tightly, fist clenching and releasing. It had been several hours since Hot Rod had silently came in reporting that Bumblebee had been kidnapped. He still remembered the last broadcast that Bumblebee had sent them all. It was a horrified cry of Cover!. After that, his com link went dead and Prime could not make another connection with his soldier. He was tense with worry. He couldn't recharge, he couldn't think, and he could barely move. His spark ached, wanting the well being of his lover. He suddenly felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"He'll be fine." Ratchet said softy, rubbing the younger mech's shoulder to comfort him.

"Primus, Ratchet, I'm going to get a virus with how worried I am." Prime choked. "Just when I decide to admit that I love him he's gone." Optimus was trembling now, his dental plates scraping against each other so hard Ratchet noticed sparks come from his open mouth.

"Shhh. I'm sure he'll find a way to get out. He has Ark Angel, doesn't he?"

Optimus turned his head to look at Ratchet. "Yeah.. But it's Starscream. And you _know _what happens when Starscream takes people hostage." Prime gasped, optics beginning to blur with energon fluid tears. "You know... you know..." He repeated, shoulders shaking as he openly sobbed. Damn, he was making a fool of himself. Why was he so emotional? A leader was supposed to be strong, fearless, comforting... But it was he who needed comfort and control. He felt Ratchet wrap his arms around him in a brotherly hug, and Prime found himself sobbing into Ratchet's side. After a few minutes, rime looked up.

"Feel better now? I'm afraid I was being nice." Ratchet mumbled.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Ratchet." Prime smiled as Ratchet stepped away. Ratchet helped Prime lower himself back down onto the bed, seeing as Prime's joints were still very stiff. "You need to get some more recharge. Icefire is on lookout for any changes. Although we can't make connections with Bumblebee, he has a strong spark, and is as brave as you. You shouldn't be worrying." Ratchet said as he put the blanket back on Prime. "Get some recharge before I personally put you into stasis." He grumbled, leaving. Prime just smiled to himself before switching off his optics, still thinking of Bumblebee.

* * *

Whirlwind had wasted time by sitting the library, reading a report on meteors when she realised it was 12:28 AM. She smiled to herself. It was the perfect time. Stormbringer was in the library too, curled up into a little ball in a large chair, sleeping. She got up from her perch on a sofa and tappe4d him on the wing. The youth woke up instantly, blinking in confusion as he looked up at his mother. "Hmmmm..?" He said groggily, standing up after carefully unfolding off the chair. "Remember? I was going to do something tonight, and I need you." Whirlwind said softly, walking out of the library with Stormbringer eagerly following. The two took the elevator down, into the lowest level of the tower. It was where the brig was. When the elevator doors opened, the hallway ahead was dark and damp, light only by bare light bulbs that dangled from the roof. Bare wiring ran on the roof, sparks flying from some damaged circuitry on the roof. Scorponok was staring blankly at the door of the only active cell in the brig, who was Bumblebee. Stormbringer huddled closer to his mother, creped out by the dark surroundings. Water dripped from the roof and landed in small puddles. Scorponok looked up when Whirlwind advanced, Scorponok shooting her both a warning and cautious look from his various eyes. Bumblebee was inside there- singing.

"Scorponok; Bumblebee's been cleared of charges." Whirlwind said simply. "You can let him go and catch some recharge." Scorponok looked, nodded, and moved back. The door had a locking mechanism that meant it couldn't be opened from the inside, because there was no handle on the other side. Stormbringer's eyes were widened. He hadn't known Bumblebee was here. Whirlwind opened the door and heard Bumblebee stop singing. The yellow mech was standing in the middle of the room, hands balled up into fists. He was seriously beat up, what was left of his armour was hanging in shards off his protoform, and his protoform was sliced up. He looked up and beamed. Whirlwind put a hand to her lips in a stay quiet motion, but she was engulfed in a hug by Bumblebee. "Stormbringer, can you go switch of all of the security cameras and measures?" She heard a muffled 'yes' in reply, as Bumblebee was practically crushing her in a friendly hug. All of the security controls were down here. Bumblebee let go and they both moved out of the cell hearing that the 'off' switches for the cameras had been hit. Then again, it wouldn't matter much, as next morning when they went down to get Bumblebee they'd find the cell empty. The trio ran into the elevator, going to the ground floor which was only one level above. They then ran out, Whirlwind leading them to the med bay. Once inside, she opened various cabinets containing many things, grabbing a spare bag from the counter beneath the cupboard. She grabbed all of the remedies and medicines in the cupboard and put them in the bag, along with various tools and needles.

Once that was done, she grabbed a spare potion and told Bumblebee to drink it. He guzzled it in one gulp and crushed the glass in his hand so there would be no evidence of his energy signature left on it. Whirlwind clutched the bag, tying the top by pulling on the drawstrings that sealed it shut. Bumblebee held on to the glass shards, going to throw them away once outside. The trio quietly walked out of the building, sensors primed as they cut through the eerie silence. The whole area was bathed in blue light from tall windows and glass doors in the entrance. Bumblebee pressed on the glass door carefully, making sure it wasn't alarmed as they finally reached the entrance. He pushed and there was thankfully no sound alerting that the doors were open. Cold night air met his grinning faceplates as he ran outside. The front f the building consisted of a large fountain that was a statue of Starscream with water coming out of his wings and collecting in the large pool below. There were concrete benches where homeless children huddled against each other. Just across the street was here the metallic city began. Of course the civilians did not know that the trio were breaking out, so ignored them to go to various bars. Whirlwind shuddered. The downtown city at night was dangerous and sick. The worst kind of people were walking around the streets, dealing illegal varieties of energon and some just waiting for a fight to break out. Whirlwind transformed, cockpit opening to allow Bumblebee to clamber in.

Stormbringer put the bag close to his chest so he could transform around it, his mother had given him the bag full of medical equipment when they had come outside. The sparkling transformed into his smaller jet mode, and rocketed into the sky, taking off on the concrete in front of the building. The sky was unsurprisingly empty. All the action was on the ground, anyway. They cut through the smoggy air, Bumblebee a bit scared of the way Whirlwind flew, as she was going insanely fast and her turns were so sharp it seemed like she tipped over vertically. Her son had no problem keeping up. The crowded metal city faded away slowly into the desert. Bumblebee peered out of the windows of the cockpit as they skimmed over the surface of the moonlit dunes. His spark was aching for Optimus although it was only a relatively short time since they had last met. He hadn't been able to maintain a com link signal, his systems were probably damaged. The medicine Whirlwind gave him was repairing him though, and he felt his mind become clear. He found himself humming and tapping his foot, and soon, music was coming from his speaker system.

_"You and me, fit so tiiiiigghhhttt..."_

Bumblebee heard a snort of laughter from Whirlwind. "What the slag was that?"

_"Can you do it again? Do it again... Do it again..."_

The song continued to broadcast over his vocal system, and he didn't pause it to speak. Whirlwind was chuckling, absurdly confused by the human' music. She didn't understand why Bumblebee liked human 'music' so much. When the song was over, he started laughing and spoke. "I guess I was thinking about Optimus."

"Awww. It's so _cute._" Whirlwind chuckled back in a teasing tone.

"I have a song for everything." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

He felt Whirlwind begin to descend and he looked out the window excitedly. The beaten base was just below them. Whirlwind suddenly cut her engines and dropped to the ground. Bumblebee gave a yelp as the g-forces made his internal systems lurch while the jet plummeted. Whirlwind landed on the ground hard making Bumblebee jump up from his seat and hit the top of his head. "Owww..." He whimpered before climbing out. Stormbringer had already transformed and was holding the bag of medical equipment. He dropped to the ground letting Whirlwind transform. "Follow me!" He said the both of the, running towards the wall which he had carved footsteps into. He climbed them easily, and the pair followed. He shouted loudly as he ran down the halls. Ratchet, Icefire, The twins, Arcee and Hot Rod filed out of Optimus' quarters, all smiling at Bumblebee's return. But they won't the only ones to come out. Jazz, Ironhide, and Elita One were there too.

"He's back!" Arcee and Icefire shouted in unison.

"Good to see you online." Sunstreaker said, hands forming a thumbs up sign.

"The Prime fragger has returned!" Sunstreaker boldly announced. Bumblebee shook his fist at him, but he was grinning.

"Bumblebee!" He heard Optimus shout from inside Ironhide's office.

Ratchet the finally noticed the Decepticon femme and the youth. Stormbringer was clinging to his mother's side, a little intimidated by the hostile look Ratchet was giving them. Bumblebee noticed this and stepped in front of Ratchet. "They're my friends. Not exactly loyal to the Decepticons either." Bumblebee spoke quickly. Icefire walked forward to look at the youth. She smiled at Whirlwind. "Hello." With that lead, the others nodded and greeted the newcomer. Stormbringer smiled up at Sunstreaker when he rubbed the top of his head playfully. He stepped back and saluted the younger. "We will train him in the ways of the perv." He said in mock authority. Arcee hit her forehead with her palm. "Perfect." She muttered under her breath as the excited youngster jumped forward to walk with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Stormbringer passed the bag of medical supplies to his mother before running off with the twins.

"Ratchet?" The femme said, knowing the medic's name because Bumblebee had talked about him. The medic grunted in acknowledgment. She offered the bag to him, and he eyed it warily. "It's a bunch of medical stuff. I'm afraid I don't know much in this area of expertise so I grabbed a bunch of stuff I thought looked useful." She said as Ratchet looked in the parcel. He gave a nod to himself in approval. It was then that the femme noticed the bulky figure of Ironhide. Something in her memory clicked and she walked up to him.

"Ironhide... right?"

"Yes 'm." He said. His accept was familiar. The femme squinted up, looking intently into his optics. The mech looked down at her, baffled. "Whut...?"

"Oh, nothing. You just look very familiar."

"You do, too." He said simply, looking at the femme with interest. She had to be Ark Angel. She was just how he remembered her before they Decepticons attacked; beautiful.

"Whirlwind. There are certain tools and remedies in here I can use to repair your memory circuit if there's anything wrong with it. I want to do a check-up on your systems. Could you come with me?" Ratchet said as he pulled out a needle and a wrench. The pair moved into another room.

Bumblebee had been quiet through the whole introduction. Now he was walking into Optimus' temporary office, excited to see his lover again. Optics sparkled happily when he caught sight of the Autobot leader. He was still lying there, weak, but the sparkle in his optics made him seem full of life. Bumblebee smiled when Optimus gave a weak wave. He walked over and kissed his faceplates. "Feeling better?"

"A bit." Optimus chuckled. "The twins began telling me about what goes on in the base. Frag, I didn't realise so much happened right in front of my face." He smiled and beckoned Bumblebee to come closer. Bumblebee then crawled on top of him and wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing him gently. Optimus wrapped his one arm around Bumblebee's waist, pressing him closer. Bumblebee's spark ached when it sensed another one so close. Glossa's intertwined when they deepened the kiss, and Bumblebee's optics offlined. Optimus ran his thumb down Bumblebees' back making the younger shudder. He broke the kiss and smiled down at Optimus. "Shame you're busted up. Ratchet said nothing good." Bumblebee teased, getting off Prime. The older mech smiled and slipped into recharge. He needed some of Ratchet's medicines soon, considering that even after minor acts he had to go into recharge. He poked his head out of the door and yelled. "Raaatcheeetttt!"

"What? I was going to get some recharge." Ratchet grumbled as he went into the hallway noticing Bumblebee's head sticking out of the door.

"I need to borrow you for a sec." Bumblebee said, jumping back into the room as Ratchet appeared. "Can you fix up Optimus?"

The medic nodded. "Sure. It'll take a while though." He spoke before grabbing some tools from the compartment in his chest. Ark Angel soon entered the room after Ratchet. "Hello, Bumblebee." She said sweetly. "Ratchet recovered my memory drive. Now I remember pretty much everything!" Ark Angel smiled. Bumblebee was smiling too, happy by this news. No more explaining!

"Would you two get outta here already? I'm trying to fix a mech and I don't need chattering in my audio sensors!" Ratchet barked as he injected Optimus' neck with a medicine that would put him in a temporary stasis as he operated. Ark Angel just smiled and shook her head as Bumblebee and herself dashed out of the room.

* * *

This was going to be a bigass chapter in the beginning, but I shortened it. Because I'm an evil bitch. MWHAHAHAHA! Song used: Do It Again by Queens Of The Stone Age.


End file.
